Insert Joke Here
by DeadWizardGod
Summary: No one knew Howie Stark existed, then he flew through a wormhole and saved the world. When a terrorist rises, Iron Man's son must help his father defeat him. Part four of Small Heroes, based on Iron Man 3
1. Chapter 1

_December 3, 2012_

 _Stark Mansion, Malibu_

Tony Stark turned around, the parts of his armour hitting his arms and legs. He winced slightly when the chest plate hit him, expanding over his stomach. He was only missing the faceplate, which flew over his shoulder to slam into the ground. He raised an eyebrow at it and the metal rose in the air, upside down. He jumped as it flew at him, landing perfectly with his armour all in place. He smirked under the faceplate.

'I'm the best.'

* * *

Something hit his back, sending him falling forward and the pieces of armour flying off. He groaned slightly, even as a laugh filled the room. Tony looked up, glaring at the twelve year old.

'Yeah, dad, you're fantastic.'

Howard Stark II grinned at his dad, holding a stylus between his teeth. On his lap were several STARKpads, showing notes for all the meetings he had to attend throughout the month. Despite being in just a t-shirt and shorts, his light brown hair had been perfect styled, gelled back so it was out of his eyes and just touched the top of his shoulders. A pair of wire framed glasses were in front of his dark green eyes, information flashing up on the right lens as he looked around. Although 5'5" when standing, he seemed a bit smaller sat as he was, hunched in on himself. His skin had tiny patches of purple, like bruises, scattered around, mainly on his face and knuckles.

'As always sir, a great pleasure watching you work.'

The boy laughed again, filling some notes out on the pad on his left knee. Said knee, and the entirety of the leg it was attached to, was pure metal, wires and cogs allowing him to control it like he did his other, flesh and blood, leg. It disconnected at his hip, which was similarly metal but permanent. His right hand and lower arm was similarly robotic and connect to his elbow. A series of wires and metals were imbedded in his chest, an exoskeleton that kept everything running smoothly, connecting his prosthetics to arc reactor power.

'Shut up, Howie.' Tony said, throwing the armour's shoulder at his son. Howie caught it easily, setting it down as he researched the person he was meeting that afternoon. As Pepper Potts' new secretary, he had to attend practically every meeting she did, and then some, knowing everything he could about the people they were meeting and there ideas. 'And put the work away, it's Christmas.'

Howie rolled his eyes, pushing his glasses further up his nose. He only needed them for reading but he did like the information they gave him. 'It's three weeks until Christmas and that actually means I have more work to do.'

'Ordering presents?' Tony said, patting Dummy's neck as the bot starting clearing things away. 'Do I pay you for that?'

'When they're from you, you do.' He said, running his left hand over his face. 'Do you realise how many things I have to buy? I have to purchase yours, Pepper's and mine plus I'm buying for the Avengers, kids and adults, and a whole bunch of your staff, plus business partners and-'

'I get it How. Breathe.'

Howie glared at his dad, putting one of the pads to the side. He had finished ordering the gifts from Pepper's list and now had to go through Tony's very vague ideas for presents. He stared down at the list, his eyes widening in annoyance.

'Tony, why have you just written "modern" next to Steve's name.' He said, tilting his head and pulling a face.

'I want to get him something modern. Come on, Howie, you're supposed to be intelligent.'

'That's it? Something modern? Pepper gave me a comprehensive list, she knew exactly what she wanted. Don't you want to put thought into the gifts?'

Tony shrugged, standing up and wiping his hands. 'I've barely known them a year, no need to be weird. I put thought into yours, Lizzie's and Pepper's. Let's go upstairs.'

Howie looked upwards, brow furrowing. 'I have to get this done before this afternoon.'

Tony snorted, grabbing the pads off his sons lap and swinging his son over his shoulder. Howie yelped, trying to squirm out of his father's grip but Tony was unperturbed, carrying his son upstairs and dumping him on the sofa. Howie stuck his tongue out when Tony sat down next to him. As Tony turned on the television, Howie lifted his legs onto Tony's lap, turning his head to watch the news.

'Some people call me a terrorist.'

The Starks glanced at each other, Howie propping himself up on an elbow.

'I consider myself a teacher. America, ready for another lesson?'

Tony clicked a button on the remote, the footage beginning to record. His hands, resting on Howie's shins, tensed, keeping his son where he was.

'In 1864 in Sand Creek, Colorado, the U.S. military waited until the friendly Cheyenne Braves had all gone hunting. Waited to attack and slaughter the families left behind and claim their land.'

Howie looked up. 'Who is this guy?'

'Shh.' Tony said, pinching his leg. 'They'll probably explain later.'

'The Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait was attacked.' The voice continued, showing flashes of the base, completely destroyed. 'I did that. A quaint military church, filled with wives and children of course. The soldiers were out on manoeuvres. The "Braves" were away.'

The man on the screen looked up, glaring at the camera. The Starks both set their jaws, as if the person was talking to them.

'President Ellis.' He said, making the Starks glance quickly at each other. 'You continue to resist my attempts to educate you, sir. And now, you've missed me again. You know who I am. You don't know where I am. And you'll never see me coming.'

Howie laid back down, running a hand through his hair as the news returned to the reporters.

The lady on screen, who looked shaken, nodded to herself as she spoke, trying to calm her nerves.

'...and now that we seem to be back, let's recap some of the frightening developments in this story. American airways were hijacked. The nation remains on high alert.'

'Why weren't we told about this?' Tony muttered.

'All attempts to find the Mandarin have so far proved unsuccessful.'

Howie jerked upwards, jumping to his feet and staring at the screen. Tony stared at him, ignoring the President introducing Rhodey in a new suit.

'How?' The older Stark said, brushing his fingers against his son's arm. 'What's wrong?'

'Play the clip again.' He said, voice shaking. His eyes were wide, and Tony could feel his pulse quickening.

Confused, Tony clicked a few buttons on the remote, bringing the Mandarin up again. He handed the remote to Howie, who held it like a lifeline.

'Some people call me a terrorist.'

Howie paused the video, slumping back down in his seat. 'That's not the Mandarin.'

Tony turned the television off, raising his eyebrow. 'And you know this, how?'

Howie's eyes widened slightly and a small blush formed over his cheeks. 'Doesn't matter. I've got to go change.'

'Howie.' Tony said, trying to sound stern.

'I have a meeting at four. Well, Pepper has a meeting, but I have to be there.' Howie almost tripped over trying to get to the stairs. 'I've got to change.'

Watching his son run off, Tony pursed his lips. He turned the television back on, watching people discussing Rhodey's new outfit. He ran a hand over his face, trying to figure out what was wrong.

'JARVIS, got anything for me? How does Howie know the Mandarin?'

 _'I'm afraid that information has been classified, sir.'_

'By who?'

 _'By young master Howard, sir. Just now.'_

Tony buried his face in his hands, resisting the urge to scream.

* * *

'It tested well with focus groups, alright.'

Rhodey tried to stare down the two laughing Starks but it just seemed to entertain them more. Howie raised an eyebrow, making his voice grow low.

'I am Iron Patriot.'

'Yeah, and what do they call you?'

Howie shrugged, a bit of his bravado fading. 'Titanium, which I did hate, but its still better than Iron Patriot.'

'Listen. War Machine was a little too aggressive, alright. This sends a better message.'

'Yeah and god forbid a guy going round beating up terrorists seem aggressive.'

Tony hit his son's side, making him grow quiet. Howie raised an eyebrow, taking a sip of his drink, non-alcoholic of course. He smoothed out his clothes, tightening his tie and fiddling with his cufflinks.

'So what's really going on? With the Mandarin.' Rhodey rolled his eyes but Tony kept going. 'Seriously, can we talk about this guy?

'It's classified information, Tony.' He said, eyes flicking to Howie. The boy shrugged, brushing crumbs off his waistcoat. He brought his right hand up to scratch his face, not so subtly reminding Rhodey he wasn't an innocent bystander. The colonel sighed, nodding. 'Okay, there've been nine bombings.'

'Nine?' Tony and Howie said together.

'The public only knows about three.' Rhodey said, leaning back in his seat. 'But here's the thing, no one can ID a device. There's no bomb casings-'

'You know I can help. Just ask.' Tony started, causing Howie to roll his eyes. 'I got a ton of new tech. I got a prehensile suit. I got bomb disposal catches explosions mid-air.'

'When's the last time you got a good night's sleep?' Rhodey said, leaning forward. Howie raised his hands in agreement, pulling a face at Tony.

'Einstein slept three hours a year. Look what he did.'

'People are concerned about you, Tony. I'm concerned about you.'

'I am also concerned.' Howie said, staring at his dad.

'You don't sleep either, idiot.' He said, before turning back to Rhodey 'You gonna come at me like that?'

'No, look, I'm not trying to be a dic-'

Howie stepped on Rhodey's foot as two kids appeared at Tony's elbow.

'-Tator.' He finished awkwardly, sharing a glance with Howie.

'Would you sign my drawing?'

Tony nodded, joking around with Rhodey before taking the crayon. Howie tilted his head to look at picture, grimacing at his dad flying through the wormhole.

'What's your name?'

'Erin.'

'By the way, I loved you in A Christmas Story.'

Howie sighed, turning back to Rhodey as he tried to get Tony's attention.

'Listen, the Pentagon is scared. After what happened in New York...aliens, come on. They need to look strong.'

Howie looked back at Tony, whose breathing was getting heavy. He placed a hand on his father's arm, trying to shake him out of his panic.

'Stopping the Mandarin is a priority, but it's not...it's not superhero business.'

'No, it's not, quite frankly.' Howie said, still staring at Tony. Rhodey finally looked up at him, eyes narrowing. 'It's American business.'

Rhodey put a hand on Tony's shoulder. 'Are you okay?'

'I broke the crayon.' Tony said, his voice shaking.

'Are you okay, Mr. Stark?' Erin said, stepping away. Howie patted her arm to calm her down.

'Take it easy. Tony...'

'Dad, calm down.'

The boy leant forward, whispering something in Tony's ear. Tony jerked away from him, eyes wide.

'Dad.'

'What'd you say?!' The boy tilted his head, clearly not knowing what he had done wrong. Tony stood up, stumbling to the door. 'Sorry, Have to check...on the suit...'

Tony stumbled out, Rhodey following him at a slower pace. Howie grabbed the boy, kneeling down to his height.

'What did you say to him?' He said, growing frantic. 'What did you say to Tony?'

The boy shrugged, tearing up. 'I asked him how he got out of the wormhole.'

Howie felt his heart stop and he took a few deep breaths, refusing to panic. He couldn't stop himself getting angry, sneering at the boy as he stood.

'Why don't I throw you into space, you can find out?!' The boy started crying and Howie rubbed his eyes, taking a small step back. 'I'm sorry, okay. I'm sorry. We got out through pure luck, okay.'

The boy nodded, Erin pulling him away. Howie stood, sighing and tapping a few buttons on his arm. His heart rate began to slow, and he headed outside again, leaving some money on the table before he went.

Rhodey was knelt down next to Tony, who was in the suit. Rhodey looked up and Howie with a exasperated expression, tapping on the faceplate.

'Come on man, this isn't a good look. Open up.'

'Sorry, I gotta split.' Tony said, flying into the air. Howie watched him go with a frown, stepping up to his own suit.

'You going as well?' Rhodey said.

'Yeah, I have a meeting.' He said, as the suit formed around him. 'I'll speak to him.'

Rhodey nodded, sighing as the younger Stark flew off, in the opposite direction to his dad.

* * *

Howie rushed through the corridors of Stark Industries, the other employees moving out of his way quickly. Being the boss' son and the CEO's assistant did have its perks. He made it upstairs to Pepper's office, walking past Happy to get inside.

'Badge, buddy.'

Howie skidded to a stop, staring at Happy. 'Really? You know who I am. You've known me since I was a toddler.'

'Need some sort of proof, bud.' Happy said with a shrug. 'Security is a priority.'

Howie looked down at his left leg, pulling up the material of his trousers. 'Proof enough for you?'

Happy's mouth thinned but he nodded Howie into the next room. Howie pressed the door open, smiling at Pepper as he walked in. She was sat with the guy they were meeting, eyebrows raised at him.

'Sorry, I'm late. Fangirls outside the building.' He rolled his eyes, sitting down next to Pepper and pulling his glasses out of his pocket. He blinked twice and the information he needed flashed up. 'Happy's so concerned about internal security, he hasn't even looked outside.'

Pepper smiled and the man beside her held out his hand.

'Aldrich Killian.'

'Howard Stark Jr. Nice to meet you.'

'And you. Nice glasses.'

Howie grinned, grabbing the STARKpad on the table and opening up the notes. He nodded at Killian to continue and the man smiled.

'After years dodging the president's ban on "immoral biotech research", my think tank now has a little something in the pipeline.'

Despite his glasses recording everything, Howie frantically made notes on the pad, making sure he didn't miss anything.

'It's an idea we like to call "Extremis". I'm gonna turn your lights down.'

Howie and Pepper glanced around as the room became dark. Howie's eye narrowed at the theatrics, knowing Tony was often criticised for them. Killian clicked a button and a huge light display filled the room.

'Regard the human brain.' Howie almost opened his mouth to correct him when Killian continued. 'Uh wait, hold on, hold on. That's, that's the universe, my bad.'

Howie rolled his eyes, looking sideways at Pepper. She seemed genuinely amused by the display and not in a mocking way. Howie supposed she was used to Tony after all.

'But if I do that...' The image changed, a canopy of synapses and electrical charges. Howie's glasses instantly supplied him with information; what each section did, the differences in this brain compared to the average one, etc. 'That's the brain. Strangely memetic though, wouldn't you say?

'Wow that's amazing.' Pepper said, despite Howie's face suggesting the opposite.

'Thanks its mine.' Killian said and Howie resisted the urge to laugh. The guy was actually trying to flirt with a woman in one of the most heavily documented relationships of the last decade.

'What?'

'This...you're inside my head.' He tapped his ear. 'It's a live feed. Come on up I'll prove it to you'

He stood on the table, holding a hand out to Pepper. She followed him up, glancing back down at Howie, who shook his head quickly.

'Pinch my arm.'

Howie rolled his eyes as Killian took Pepper through his performance, finding the acting a bit lacking. Knowing there were about five different cameras recording, Howie flicked through the man's proposal and the history of his company. As he was reading, and Killian was flirting, he felt his glasses vibrate and, again, forced himself not to laugh. His dad was checking up on Pepper. He glanced through the window at Happy, who was staring at Killian almost evilly. He pointed the glasses at the STARKpad, typing very clearly on the screen.

 _Really? Spying on us now?_

The reply appeared on the lens.

 _Shut up._

Pepper sat down again and Howie looked up with feigned interest. He, at least, could act. Killian grinned at both of them, clearly pleased with how everything was going.

'Imagine if you could hack into the hard drive of any living organism and recode its DNA.'

Pepper smiled. 'It would be incredible.'

Howie looked at her sharply, wondering where she was going. Tony would never approve this.

'Unfortunately, to my ears it also sounds highly weaponisable.' Pepper said, ignoring Howie's sigh of relief. 'As in enhanced soldiers, private armies, and Tony is not-'

'Tony, Tony.' Killian said, as if it was a joke. Howie sat up straighter, his eyes narrowing. 'You know, I invited Tony to join AIM. But something tells me now there is a new genius on the throne, who doesn't have to answer to Tony anymore and who has slightly less of an ego.'

Howie glared, leaning forward. 'You asked my dad to join you while at a New Year's Eve party, at which time your think tank was barely more than an idea.'

Killian's jaw set but he didn't say anything, so Howie continued.

'Also, while Pepper is the CEO and makes all the big decisions, Tony has, and I hope you don't take this the wrong way Pep, overarching control. Even if we accepted this now, he would veto it, putting you right back where you started.'

'I'm sorry, what was your job again?' Killian said, obviously trying to regain control of the situation.

'I'm secretary to the CEO.'

'A prestigious job, I'm sure.'

Howie's eyes narrowed. 'Considering my predecessors were Pepper Potts, the current CEO and Maria Stark, the richest woman in the world when she died, I would say so, yes.'

Pepper turned around, glaring at her boyfriend's son. Howie raised an eyebrow back and Pepper sighed, turning back to Killian.

'It's going to be a "no", Aldrich, as much as I'd like to help you.'

'I can't say that I'm not disappointed.' Killian said with a sigh. 'But as my father used to say "Failure is the fog through which we glimpse triumph".'

'It's very deep.' Pepper said, standing also. After a second, Howie followed, moving his hand behind his back when he caught Killian staring at it. 'And I have no idea what it means.'

'Well, he was kind of an idiot, my old man.' Killian said, walking out the door. 'I'm sure I'll see you again, Pepper. Mr Stark.'

Howie rolled his eyes, turning to look at Pepper, who seemed to be trying to kill him with her eyes.

'What?'

She rolled her eyes, grabbing her purse. 'Let's go home, Howie. Did you come in your suit?'

'Yeah, but its in the car.' He said, as her gaze stayed icy. 'Seriously, what I do?'

Pepper sighed, walking out with Happy. Howie smiled to himself, following her out.

* * *

 **A/N: Here's the next major story in the Small Heroes series. It's going to be about eleven chapters, which I will hopefully be updating weekly. However, as I am now at university, I obviously have other things to worry about. Hope you like it.**


	2. Chapter 2

'I'm sorry we're late, we were...what is that? You're wearing this in the house now?!'

Howie raised an eyebrow as he shut the car door. He carried his briefcase, containing his suit, STARKpads and several pieces of paper for Tony and Pepper to sign. He followed Pepper in, raising the other eyebrow at his dad sat lounging in his newest suit.

'What is that, like Mark XV?' Pepper said with a raised eyebrow.

'Something like that.' Tony said, standing up.

Howie shook his head, walking into the kitchen. He placed the briefcase on the counter, pulling all but the suit out and lining them up. As Tony walked towards Pepper, giving her a massage, Howie grabbed a breakfast bar out of the draw, chewing on it as Pepper stood up. He tried to both ignore them and not be seen ignoring them. Having parents was weird. Howie paused at that thought, wondering when he had started to think of Pepper as a parent.

'Did you like the custom rabbit?'

Howie snorted, thinking of the huge thing outside the door. He had struggled to keep a straight face when he and Pepper had arrived home. Apparently, it had taken Tony a lot of thought to find a good present for Pepper, and that was what he came up with.

'Did I like it?'

'Nailed it right?'

Howie grabbed a smoothie out of the fridge walking towards the sofas. He sat down, trying to not watch as Pepper got closer to Tony.

'Why don't you lift up that facemask and give me a kiss?'

Tony tapped his head and Howie looked up, eyebrows furrowing at the hollow sound.

'Huh, yeah, dammit. No can do. You want to just kiss it on the, uh, facial slit?'

'Why don't I run down to the garage and see if I can't find a crowbar to jimmy that thing open?' Pepper said walking past him. Howie stood, wanting to see his dad get in trouble.

'A crowbar? Yeah...' Tony suddenly jumped. 'Oh, except there's been a radiation leak.'

'Since when?' Howie said, dodging under his dad's arm.

'Since this morning, and its dangerous.'

'I'll take my chances.' Pepper said over her shoulder.

'That's risky, at least let me get you like a Hazmat suit or a Geiger counter or something like that...' Howie leant round the top of the stair, seeing his dad doing chin ups. He looked back at the suit rolling his eyes and sat down at the top of the stairs.

'Busted.'

'This is a new level of lame.'

'Sorry.' Tony said, not sounding sorry at all.

'You ate without me, already?' Pepper said, looking up at Howie. The boy held his hands up, not getting involved. 'On date night?'

'He was just...' Tony gestured to Dummy, who raised his camera to Howie. The boy leant down to pat his head.

'You mean you were.'

'Well yeah, I just mean we were just... just hosting you while I finished up a little work.' Tony was stuttering down and Howie knew he was done for. 'And yes, I had a quick bite. I didn't know if you were coming home or you were having drinks with Aldrich Killian.'

'What? Aldrich Killian? What are you checking up on me?'

'Happy was concerned.'

'No, you're spying on me.'

'You did try and spy through my glasses.' Howie pointed out. 'Very rude.'

Pepper pointed at Howie. 'Seriously? You're using your own son to spy on me?'

'You were looking at some guy's big brain. Howie, how was the brain? Impressive?'

'I didn't think so.' Howie said, with a shrug. 'I think Pepper disagreed.'

'Howie...' Pepper said, sighing. 'I found the science impressive. And if you two are going to gang up on me, I'm going to bed.'

Howie stood, knowing the conversation was over and he would be in trouble if he stayed where he was.

'Hold on. Come on. Pep. Hey, I admit it! My fault. Sorry.'

Howie froze at the top of the stairs, out of Tony's sight. His dad didn't say sorry to anyone, he had gone off the head when Rhodey suggested something was wrong. Howie sunk to his knees, listening in.

'I'm a piping hot mess. It's been going on for a while. I haven't said anything but...nothing's been the same since New York.'

'Oh really?' Pepper said, clearly still annoyed. 'I didn't notice that, at all.'

'You experience things and then they're over and you still can't explain them.' Tony said, his voice getting softer. 'Gods, aliens, other dimensions...I'm just a man in a can.'

Howie pulled his metal leg to his chest. Thoughts of New York always made his leg hurt, like a phantom limb. He pressed a button on his hip, releasing pain killers into his bloodstream.

'The only reason I haven't cracked up is probably because you've moved in. Which is great. I love you; I'm lucky. But honey... I can't sleep.'

Howie's head bowed, feeling unreasonably jealous. He knew his dad wasn't sleeping but not because he had told him. He knew because he heard his dad walk past his room every night. His dad, who he thought trusted him with everything, was telling Pepper a secret he didn't think Howie deserved to know.

'You go to bed, I come down here. I do what I know; I tinker. The threat is imminent.' Tony said, his voice breaking. 'And I have to protect the one thing that I can't live without. That's you.'

Howie's breath caught and he resisted the urge to run downstairs. He need to calm his breathing, needed to stop thinking about things in such a morbid way. Tony didn't mean like that, it came out wrong. Of course his dad still loved him.

'I'm gonna take a shower.' Pepper said, startling Howie out of his thoughts.

'Okay.'

'And you're going to join me.'

'Better.'

The two walked out of the garage, hand in hand, and neither noticed the boy crouched in the vents above their heads.

* * *

'Please don't be upset about this.' The blonde on the laptop screen said. 'You know he didn't mean it like that.'

Howie flopped down on the bed, looking sideways at his girlfriend. It was late, really late and Lizzie would probably kill him if she knew how late but he couldn't sleep. Not that he ever really got to sleep until about four in the morning, catching a few hours before his dad came crashing in to wake him up.

'He said "the one thing I can't live without".' Howie whined, lifting his leg up to remove it. 'One thing, Liz, he didn't even think of me.'

She shrugged, running a hand through her short hair. 'My dad used to say stuff like that all the time to my mum, then he'd turn around and say it to me. Did your dad know you were there?'

'I dunno.' Howie pouted. 'Don't think so.'

'And have you seen him since then?'

'No.' He grumbled. Under his breath he added. 'I hid in the vents.'

'Well then you don't know what he would have said if he knew you were there, do you? Stop moaning.'

He glared at her, pulling his hand off and placing it next to his leg on the side. 'You're supposed to be on my side.'

'I am on your side.' She said with a grin, leaning back in her chair. Wherever she was, classified of course, it was sunny, the sunglasses perched on top of her head and the vest she wore proving that. 'You can talk to me about anything.'

Howie smiled at her, closing his eyes slightly. 'I miss you.'

'Miss you to.'

'Yeah, yeah, we all miss each other. Can I have the computer?'

Another face filled the screen, eyes narrowed at Howie. Lizzie yanked the younger back, rolling her eyes.

'Hello Barton.' Howie said with a smirk. 'Like the hair.'

Sophie smiled, running her hands through her waves, recently dyed pink at the top, fading into purple as it went down. 'Thank you, Stark. Now I need the computer.'

'Why?' Lizzie said, glaring at her. 'You always use it.'

'I need to hack into SHIELD, find out where we're going next.'

'It's supposed to be a surprise.'

'Don't make me laugh.'

Lizzie rolled her eyes, pushing her fellow agent in training out of the shot. Sophie cursed off screen as she fell over, walking behind Lizzie with a scowl.

'She'll be back.' Howie said, rolling his eyes.

'Maybe. But I think I can get rid of her.' Lizzie said with a wicked glint in her eye. 'We share a tent and she talks in her sleep.'

'No way.' Howie said, suppressing a yawn.

'Yep.' Lizzie said, popping the p. When Howie didn't respond, she raised an eyebrow. 'You tired? What time is it there?'

'Umm...' Howie glanced at the clock, trying not to wince at the display. 00:56 was not good and he knew she wouldn't be happy. 'Half nine.'

'Really?' Lizzie said, clearly not buying it. 'You know I can just google the time difference between here and America.'

'That's great.' Howie said, yawning again. He struggled for the light clicking it off, and pulling the blankets over him. 'I need to sleep now, speak to you tomorrow.'

'No, actually you won't.' Lizzie said with a shrug. 'We're being dumped somewhere to improve our survival skills. No phone, computers, nothing. Sophie's going mental.'

'I'm sure she is.' Howie said with a sigh. 'How long are you going to be gone?'

'Two weeks.' Lizzie said with a shrug. 'Might be back for Christmas, I don't know.'

'You better be.' He said, holding a hand out to end the call. 'See you then.'

'See you.'

They smiled at each other, pressing the end call button at the same time. Howie took a deep breath, the light of his arc reactor filling the room. He leant back in his bed, wishing he could scratch at the leg that wasn't there.

A scream from down the hall made him jolt upwards.

He jumped out of bed, grabbing his crutches rather than his leg, which would take to long to re-attach. His left short leg hung uselessly down next to the stump where his left should have been. He rushed down the hall, hoping the attacker wasn't too good at fighting. He made to Tony and Pepper's room, walking in just as Tony's suit crumbled.

'I must have called it in my sleep... that's not supposed to happen.' Tony said, looking exhausted. 'I'll recalibrate the sensors. Just let me catch my breath, okay? Don't go, alright? Pepper?'

Pepper looked at Howie, placing a hand on his shoulder. 'It's okay, we're fine. It's okay.'

Howie nodded, his eyes wide. Pepper turned to look at Tony, eyes losing all their warmth. 'I'm going to sleep downstairs. Tinker with that.'

Tony's face fell and Pepper walked past Howie, who leant backwards onto the wall. He didn't look at his dad, breathing heavily. 'What happened?'

'Nightmare.' Tony said, lying down on the bed. 'Afghanistan, I must have summoned the suit.'

'Don't talk about Afghanistan, Tony.' Howie said. 'Please.'

'It's that where you know the Mandarin from? Howie?'

Howie glared at his father, jaw setting. 'Yes. No. I don't want to talk about it.'

'If you tell me, I can help you.' Tony pointed out, sitting slightly upwards. 'We can take this guy down.'

'I don't want to take him down, Tony.'

'You don't want to? What do you want then? We've got to save the world.'

'This isn't saving the world, dad!' Howie, feeling suddenly angry. 'This is you trying to be a hero, so you don't have to think about New York.'

Tony started shaking but, before he could shout back, Howie was hobbling down the corridor, back to his room. He threw his crutches in the corner and fell on his bed, ignoring the strange static around him as he tried to sleep.

When he woke the next morning, his alarm clock was in half and the top of his wardrobe had been cut off. Both were missing the other part, it having completely disappeared, and were singed along the cut.

* * *

They drove in silence, both wearing casual t-shirts above black jeans, though Howie had remembered to wear a jacket. When working on machines, it was the best thing to wear, especially when trying them out yourself. Tony and Howie hadn't spoken since the night before, the strained silence a strange thing between them. The only time they had been this distant was after Afghanistan, both broken and trying to heal. This time, they didn't have the luxury of privacy or the convenience of peace. There were no suit wearing agents to cover their tracks if they messed up this time.

They arrived at the hospital before any paparazzi did, JARVIS covering them. As they stepped out, Howie put a ear piece in, tapping it twice.

'FRIDAY, you on?'

' _Yes, sir. How may I help you?'_

Howie smirked slightly. FRIDAY was his own attempt at an AI, copying a lot of the work his father had done of JARVIS. She didn't have a personality yet but Howie was working on one and he liked his little AI.

'Keep me informed of when the press show up. I want to know as soon as the first one, five, ten and twenty reporters appear.'

' _Yes, sir.'_

Howie followed his dad into the hospital, nodding respectfully at the doctors that pointed them on their way. He walked beside Tony, trying not to look into the rooms as he went. People deserved their privacy after all.

' _Sir, the first reporter has arrived.'_

'Thank you, FRIDAY.'

They stepped into the room, Howie's breath catching in his throat. He hadn't known Happy particularly well but the man had always known about him and always brought him Christmas presents. Even when no one else did, Happy knew about him and didn't press anything.

He looked a wreck and Howie almost wished they had accepted Killian's Extremis rubbish. His face was covered in cuts, his arms littered with burns and his eyes closed. Howie looked at the television as Tony turned it on, flicking to the right channel.

' _Five reporters, sir. Now ten.'_

'Thank you.' He muttered under his breath, sighing. He pulled something out of his pocket, placing it next to Happy. The stuffed purple elephant looked unnaturally colourful next to the white hospital bed but it was the first thing Happy had ever given him. Howie wanted to prove he hadn't thrown it away.

Tony sighed, putting down the remote. 'Sunday nights, PBS Downton Abbey. Its his show, he thinks its elegant.'

'It is elegant.' Howie said with a slight upturn of his lips. FRIDAY informed him of the twentieth reporter arriving outside. By the time they left, that number would probably double.

'One more thing... make sure everyone wears their badges.' Tony said, heading back for the door. Howie stood too, bumping his shoulder against Tony's. 'He's a stickler for that sort of thing, plus my guys won't let anyone in without them.'

Howie nodded, walking out of the room ahead of his father. Some of SI security were sat outside Happy's room, smiling sadly at Howie as he passed. The two Starks walked out, locking eyes with the journalists as they went.

'Sticking with me?' Tony muttered as they walked forward.

'No thanks.' Howie said, running a hand through his hair. 'I've got my own thing to say.'

They split, going to opposite sides of the car. Howie had to struggle through the crowd, stopping with his organic hand on the handle of the car.

'Mr Stark. Anything to say to the Mandarin?'

Howie looked up, his hand tensing around the handle. 'Yeah, I've got a bit of advice.'

The reporters all grinned, happy to have got the scoop.

'My dad is over there threatening the man who calls himself the Mandarin, saying he's going to find him and drag him screaming back to America. But my advice to you, whoever you are, is turn yourself in.'

One of the reporters rolled her eyes but Howie didn't stop talking.

'We might seem dangerous. Two guys in suits that can take down building and fend off aliens. But when it boils down to it, we're just two guys who got kidnapped four years ago. The guy who kidnapped us? The real Mandarin.'

Some reporters started scribbling, eyes wild. Others looked sceptical, glancing at each other.

'I know this because a couple months ago I was kidnapped by a god who was possessed.' Howie said, refusing to allow his voice to waver. He was saying this, he wasn't backing down. 'The man who I was given over to stayed in the shadows and tried to kill me- would have killed me, if my friends weren't so impressive.'

Someone laughed in the crowd, but only the one. Behind him, Howie could hear Tony talking, clearly angry. Howie glanced back at his own spectators, smirking slightly.

'That man wouldn't take kindly to someone stealing his name, letting him take the blame for crimes he didn't commit. He will come for you, sooner or later, and he won't have any of the mercy that we would, any of the justice. He will kill you and it will be painful.'

The journalists were silent, just staring at him with wide eyes. Howie looked right down the nearest camera, making sure his gaze didn't flicker.

'Now I don't know if you're actually a terrorist or just pretending to be one for some god forsaken reason. But, whoever you are, look at your choices of opponents and make a choice. Make the right choice and turn yourself in.'

He went to get in the car when someone shouted out again.

'Mr Stark, what if he doesn't? What are you going to do?'

Howie ignored the static in his ears as he replied. 'I'll go get him myself if I have to. We will get this man. I just can't guarantee we'll get him first.'

Howie stepped into the car, slamming the door shut. Tony got in a second later, the two of them driving off.

'Did you threaten a terrorist?' Tony said, glancing sideways.

'I think so. Did you?'

'Yep.'

They looked at each other, both torn between laughing and moaning.


	3. Chapter 3

Howie stared at the screen, rolling his eyes at his friend's shocked expression. He was sat in the garage, laptop resting on his knees, om video call to James. The younger boy was in an office of some kind, hands tucked under his chin and elbows resting on the desk.

'He gave them your address?'

Howie pinched the bridge of his nose, looking sideways at his dad. Tony was frantically typing to the computers trying to discover something before JARVIS downloaded the CCTV from the Mandarin attack.

'Yes James. He gave them our address.' Howie rolled his eyes as James started laughing. 'It's not funny. I could have a dozen journalists at my door any minute.'

'Or terrorists. ' James pointed out. 'Terrorists are worse.'

'You don't know journalists like I do.' Howie said. James pulled a face at him for that. 'At least I'm allowed to hit terrorists.'

James laughed, typing a bit on the computer to his left. He looked to the right as someone spoke to him about deadlines and partners. He shook his head, replying with similar words. He nodded a couple times before looking back at Howie, an easy grin appearing on his face.

'Sorry about that. The boss wants all this work finished by Monday but its near impossible. Pete's not finished yet and I can't do anything until then.'

'I bet all the rubble makes it even harder.'

'Don't get me started.' James moaned. 'I was walking in the other day and I swear this giant ass lizard comes running through the streets.'

'Followed by Spiderman, I'm sure.'

'Followed by Spiderman, the menace.' James said with an eye roll. 'Then some of X-Men turned up and, long story short, I was like twenty minutes late for work.'

'Enjoying work then?' Howie said with a laugh. James poked his tongue out, squeezing his eyes shut.

'I am actually, thank you very much. Never a dull day.' He shrugged. 'I did feel bad the other day, though. We went to an exhibition for the Battle of New York and there were just so many broken buildings.'

'Well, that's not your fault, is it? You're not the one who invaded Manhattan, Jim. You're a hero, remember, we talked about this.'

'There was definitely at least two apartment complexes I destroyed without needing to.' James frowned. 'And I know I'm a hero, How, it just seems like no one else does.'

Howie leant back in his seat, sighing slightly. James seemed to vary between two points of view; either he thought himself a monster that was too dangerous to be around normal people (the less likely one) or he thought he was a hero and grew angry, though not completely angry, when others didn't recognise it. It was always difficult to tell what James was feeling, especially as he would switch as the drop of a hat.

'Sod em.' Howie said finally. 'If they don't like you, just ignore them. What can they do to you? The press loves you-'

'The press call me a monstrosity.'

Howie faltered a bit, nodding his head sideways. 'In a way, yes. They call the other guy monstrosity.'

'The other guy is still me.' James said, almost absentmindedly. Howie wondered how much he was actually paying attention to the conversation, even if it was about him. He tapped at his computer, frowning. 'They don't like me Howie, I can tell.'

Howie rolled his eyes. 'Well, at least they don't know where you are. I have to talk to the people who don't like me.'

James scoffed. 'Why would anyone-'

'Not like me?' Howie said, raising an eyebrow. 'Poor little rich kid who spent his whole life safe from everything and getting whatever he wanted. Yeah, no one dislikes me.'

James' eyes narrowed. 'Your life wasn't that easy, How. You were kidnapped when you were eight.'

'Seven. I turned eight a couple months later but I always get it wrong when I tell people. And anyway so did you.'

'Actually, I was six the first time I was taken away from my dad.'

'I was two.' Howie said, his eyes downcast. On the screen, James made a noise low in his throat. The boys both set their jaws, refusing to be the first to look away.

'Well.' James said finally, the smallest of grins gracing his face. 'This is getting depressing.'

Howie had to laugh, even if it was slightly bitter. The main reason he liked James was the boy's bluntness. It probably came from a lifetime of not being around people but it was still refreshing. Well, most of the time. Sometimes he just wanted the younger boy to be quiet.

'Yeah, and besides, you should be working on my house '

James laughed, a proper laugh. 'I'll pop round this afternoon, make sure everything's going okay. See ya, How.'

'Bye James.' Howie grinned, pressing the hang up button. He looked across at his father, sighing when the man didn't even look at him.

Howie left the workshop, heading for his room. His dad was focused on the job and probably wouldn't even notice him leaving. Howie walked upstairs, stopping at Pepper's door.

'You okay?' He said, as she threw Tony's clothes into a suitcase. He expected some of them would be ripped, giving the violent way she was packing them. 'He's an idiot, you know that.'

'He gave them our address.' Pepper said, practically snarling. 'Twelve years he keeps you a secret, hides you away here and four months after I move in, he gives the whole world our address.'

'Its nothing to do with you.' He said, wishing he had someone else with him. One of the girls, or James, just someone who could back him up and stop him worrying. Although James didn't exactly help with the second part. 'He didn't mean it like that.'

'I know, I know.' Pepper sighed. She looked suddenly older and Howie wished he knew her enough and was confident enough to give her a hug. 'Just...pack your stuff, okay.'

Howie nodded, walking down the hall. He already had a suitcase out, most of his clothes already folded up inside. He grabbed a backpack, opening it up and throwing a hoody, some shorts, shirts and shoes in the bottom. He grabbed his crutches, pushing a button in the side so they folded up. He bent down to pull two compact suits from under his bed. One, similar to his dad's mark V suit, he put straight into his suitcase, while the other, split into several smaller parts that assembled together, he put in his backpack. He emptied his mini-bar into his backpack, not knowing how long he'd be gone.

He scowled when the doorbell rung, refusing to leave his room. He grabbed his photo album, small but important, and put it in the backpack, burying it under another sweater.

He looked around the room, sighing slightly. This had always been his room, cramped and hidden away. When he was a baby it had had a proper door, with a handle and a lock. Tony had slept with him most nights, when he didn't have someone sleeping over and the room had been soundproofed for the times he did. When Howie was two, someone had broken in, the head of a rival company, and stolen several thousands pounds from Tony's safe, blueprints for future weapons, one of the bots and Howie, sleeping in his bed. When Howie had gotten back, the door had been replaced with a sliding part of the wall, the handle with a sensor you had to press in exactly the right place and the lock with an alarm that would tranquilise you if you got the sensor wrong twice.

When New York happened, Howie demanded his door back, and he'd never been so happy to see a lock or a handle. The security measured had been designed to keep people out but they also kept him in, leading to his preference for small spaces. With the lock, he got to decide when he saw people and the handle meant he could actually walk about in the house without using the vents. The sliding wall had only opened from the outside, after all.

'Howie!' Tony shouted from downstairs. 'Get down here.'

Howie rolled his eyes, closing the backpack and heading back to the stairs. He leant round the top, raising his eyebrows at his dad and the woman he was stood with. Tony raised a hand to point at Howie, who glared down at him.

'You're not his mum, are you?'

Howie pulled his face back, glancing at the woman. She didn't look like him but he guessed...

'No.' The woman said, clearly affronted. 'Look, I need to be alone with you. Somewhere...not here. Its urgent.'

Tony shrugged. 'Normally I'd go for that sort of thing, but now I'm in a committed relationship.'

Something flew past Howie's side and he looked up at Pepper, even when Tony didn't flinch.

'It's...with her.'

'Tony?' Pepper said, stepping up behind Howie and placing a hand on his shoulder. 'Is somebody there?'

'Yeah, its Maya Hansen.' Tony said with a smirk. 'Old botanist pal that I used to know, barely.'

He leant in, muttering something to Hansen, who rolled her eyes and whispered back. Raising her voice, she looked around at Howie on the stairs.

'I need your help.'

'What for?' Howie said, shrugging slightly. They were a bit busy, it better be important. 'Why now?'

Hansen glared at him, though he doubted she could see Pepper. He had positioned himself so he could barely be seen, and she was even more out of sight.

'Because I read the papers.' She said, acidly. Howie wondered what he had done to annoy her. 'And, frankly, I don't think you'll last the week.'

'We'll be fine.' Tony said, Pepper taking that as her cue to walk down. She patted Howie's arm as she moved and he watched her go silently. When she reached the bottom of the stairs, he stepped down at bit, to about halfway, just in case this Maya Hanson tried anything. Tony had a suit on but it was the Mark XLII and he wasn't likely to fight someone he described as an old pal.

'I'm sorry.' Pepper said, her voice laced with annoyance that only Tony and Howie would be able to pick up on. Howie smirked slightly as Tony's face dropped. He had clearly been enjoying himself until he realised how trouble he was in. 'With Happy in the hospital, I didn't know we were expecting guests.'

'We weren't.' Howie said, grinning at his dad when he glared upwards.

'And old girlfriends-'

'She's not really.' Tony tried to defend himself.

'No not really.' Maya said, an edge of frustration in her voice. 'It was just one night.'

'Yep.'

'That's how you did it, isn't it.'

'Well... you know.'

'Yeah.'

Howie rolled his eyes, taking another few steps down the stairs. This was what always happened when someone from dad's past visited, no matter who it was. All three would talk over each other, as if trying to prove they didn't have a problem with the situation while making it plainly obvious that they did.

Pepper gave a fake smile. 'You have saved yourself a world of pain.'

'What?' Tony said, looking up at Howie as if expecting support. He just shrugged, stepping down a few more steps.

'Trust me.' Pepper grinned, slightly more genuine now but becoming predatory.

'I'm sure.'

'We're going out of town.' Pepper said, ignoring Tony's scandalised look.

'Okay. We've been through his.' Tony patronised, smirking slightly. 'Nope.'

'Yep!'

'The man says no.'

Howie laughed as they started talking, again all over each other. They were even beginning to yell, getting angry over very small things.

'Don't touch her bags.' Tony said when Maya stepped forward to help Pepper. He glowered at Howie when his son snorted.

'Tony, this is how normal people behave.' Howie said, putting on his best annoying parent voice. Tony's glare only increased.

'Stay out of this, Howie.' He said, turning back to Pepper. 'I can't protect you out there. I challenged-'

'Is this normal?' Maya said, pointing at the giant rabbit in the corner. Howie had to hop down a few more steps to properly pull a face at it.

'Sadly, that...'

'Yes, this is normal!' Tony shouted.

'Very normal.' Howie added, widening his eyes slightly.

'It's a big bunny, relax about it.'

And then Tony and Pepper were arguing again, about the _rabbit_ this time, as if their previous conversations weren't petty enough. He looked at Maya expectantly when Pepper proclaimed she didn't like the rabbit, Tony's entire face falling.

Maya was looking at the television screen, completely ignoring everyone else. Howie couldn't see what she was staring at, his height meaning the edge of the ceiling blocked it out. He took a few steps down, returning his gaze to the arguing couple as he did so.

'Do we need to worry about that?' Maya's voice cut through their arguing and Howie looked up again, his eyes widening when he saw the screen.

Helicopters were waiting outside the house, clearly not part of the press. Even as he watched, FRIDAY informed Howie that they were equipped with rocket launchers and machine guns.

'Oh, crap.' He muttered, running up the stairs. Something exploded behind him, propelling him upwards.

He hit the wall at the top of the stairs, barely managing to twist so his back took the blow. Moaning slightly in pain, he stood up, struggling towards his room. Another explosion and the house started to tilt, Howie almost falling backwards. He pressed a button on his hip, wires shooting out of his leg and attaching him to the ground. It was unstable but it would him there for a minute or two. He looked up, eyes widening when he saw half his room falling towards him. He held his right hand towards the bannister, twitching his fingers. A grappling wire sped out of the centre of his palm, wrapping around the metal. Hitting his hip and tensing his hand, he shot forward, detaching from the floor and gripping the bannister with his metal arm. He immediately wished he hadn't used the grapple because it had broken on impact and he didn't have another one. He jumped up as his suitcase shot past him, trying to grab the backpack as it slid past. He missed, cursing and looked down at his dad. Tony was pushing the person in the suit, which must be Pepper, towards the door.

'Stop stopping!' Tony shouted, giving her a shove. 'Get her and get outside. Go!'

Pepper finally moved and Howie looked around, trying to find something he could use to help. A creak beside him made him look up, seeing the metal of the bannister warping.

'You have to be kidding.'

The metal broke in his hands, Howie trying to grab the ground as he fell. He grunted when he hit the floor, unable to grip the carpet as he started sliding downwards. He looked towards his feet, gulping when he saw the broken glass window coming towards him. All he could see was the open air and he was speeding toward it with no way of stopping himself. He closed his eyes, expecting to feel the glass cutting him.

His feet hit something solid, his knees bent and he opened his eyes. He was on the ground floor, which was no where near as tilted as the upper one. His feet were pressed to the wall next to the stairs, and there was a faint buzzing in his ear, like static.

'Howie!' Tony shouted from somewhere. 'You okay?'

'Yeah, I'm good.' He shouted back, looking up the stairs. He was sure...there was no way...

He shook his head, getting to his feet. He had no weapons, so he had to get out as quickly as possible. He watched, wide eyed, as the parts of the Mark XLII flew in, attaching themselves to Tony.

'Dad, I don't have a suit!' Howie said, hoping Tony would give one to him.

'Get outside, then!' Tony said, as if it was obviously. 'Get to Pepper! That's one.'

Howie looked outside at the helicopters, spotting only two still flying. Nodding, mostly to calm his nerves, he ran through the house, yelping when the floor started to move again.

'That's two. Howie, get out! I can't protect you with this suit.'

 _Why are you wearing it then?_ Howie thought, rolling his eyes. He jumped behind the sofa, bracing his back against it. The floor shook, and he watched the kitchen fly past him. He took several deep breaths, trying to calm his nerves as several rounds of gunfire sounded around him. As soon as there was a second respite, he dashed forward, grabbing the pipes that had formerly been attached to the dishwasher. His legs swung out when the floor collapsed and he was unable to stop himself screaming slightly.

He held on tightly to the piping, even as he found himself with no footing. He looked sideway, seeing the rapidly disappearing floor and swung himself on the piping, landing with a roll and trying to sprint towards the door. He heard his father shout and paused briefly, looking behind himself.

'No!' He yelled, trying to run towards his father. He couldn't get there before Tony fell, the new underdeveloped suit unable to fly. Howie skidded to a stop at the edge of the house, staring down at the water. He couldn't see any movement. 'Oh god.'

' _Sir, you have to move.'_

He couldn't concentrate enough to tell if it was JARVIS or FRIDAY shouting at him. He just stared down at the water, leaning against the house's last remaining wall.

 _'Sir, move!'_

The last time his dad had been about to die, Howie had gone with him. Maybe he should jump down, try and drag his father out.

 _'Sir!'_

And then something hit his chest, blowing him backwards. He looked down as he sprawled out, seeing the bullet imbedded in his shirt. He breathed a sigh of relief, knowing he didn't have metal built into his skin anywhere else but his ribcage. The terrorists' aim was impeccable.

'I'm moving.' He muttered, trying to get up but he is still winded. The words come out rushed and breathless and he knows no one will believe him. 'I'll go.'

But then there was another explosion and the house began to cave in. He was sliding and the AIs were shouting but he couldn't do anything, couldn't help himself at all. The metal exoskeleton that connected his prosthetics to his arc reactor may have caught the bullet but it still hit him with full force and he was stunned. Couldn't even think as he rushed towards the open window. The house was moving down the cliff and Howie was going to fall out.

His body soured out of the window, projected far out into the ocean. Howie's eyes drifted closed as he fell into the water.


	4. Chapter 4

It is a terrible thing to wake up in wet clothes. It is even worse to wake up with every inch of you wet. This worse case scenario becomes even more upsetting when you wake with tiny stones digging into your back and rubble all around you.

Well. Howie thought to himself. At least I'm not dead.

He pushed himself up, looking around at all the mess and carnage. He could see parts of his house, a statue Tony bought ages ago here, a painting Pepper brought from her apartment there. Everything that made up his home was sprawled out and he had no idea how he survived it. He looked down, seeing his feet still in the water and wondered how long he had been submerged.

Howie sighed, pushing himself to his feet. Tapping his metal foot against the ground, he pulled off his useless sock and trainers. He looked around, then looked up, wondering if anyone was looking for him. Wondering if it would be a good thing if they were.

He started walking, dodging between the broken remains of his house. He kept his eye out for something to help, scratching behind his ear when he realised there was likely nothing. His hand tapped his ear, and he smiled slightly. The ear piece was still there and a little bit of water shouldn't stop an AI.

'JARVIS? FRIDAY? Anyone on?'

 _'Hello sir.'_ A female voice filled his ear. He'd never been happier to hear a disembodied voice. She sounded upset, which strangely made Howie happy as he hadn't been sure if he'd programmed the emotions in correctly. ' _I'm so very glad you're awake.'_

Howie laughed and ran a hand through his hair. 'I'm glad too, FRIDAY. Now, is there anyone around?'

' _Several, sir.'_ FRIDAY said. ' _Helicopters above the cliffs. I believe they are looking for you. I'd hide among the suits, sir.'_

Howie nodded, running for what was left of the garage. Only seven suits had been stored in Malibu, but he managed to tuck himself between Marks II and IV before a light shone on the beach. He stilled his breathing as he heard people shouting, footsteps nearing his location.

'See anything?'

Howie froze at the voice, refusing to let them find him.

'Nothing. If Tony or the boy are alive, they're long gone.'

'They won't be happy up top.'

'Then you have to tell em.'

The voices grew faint. Whoever the people were, they were leaving. More voices appeared then, probably dozens, people coming to scrounge Stark tech from the beach.

'FRIDAY.' He whispered. 'Sort out a deterrent.'

' _Of course, sir. Right away, don't move.'_

He didn't know what she did but someone screamed. Hidden under the suits, he smirked. It was terrifyingly fun to be kept safe by an AI who had a protective streak a mile wide. When Tony had designed JARVIS, he had been making a butler and a security system but when Howie made FRIDAY, he had some how managed to make himself a new mother.

'Are they gone?'

' _Yes, sir._ ' FRIDAY said, sounding slightly vicious. ' _But I would wait a moment, there are still people on the cliffs.'_

Howie nodded, thanking her under his breath. 'Do you know who they are?'

 _'No, sir, I'm sorry._ ' The AI said, sounding genuinely apologetic. _'I have managed to connect to your neighbour's CCTV but I cannot enhance the images.'_

'It's alright.' Howie said, slumping down where he lay. He had barely just woken from unconsciousness but he was terribly tired. 'Wake me when the coast is clear.'

' _I would go now, sir._ ' FRIDAY said. ' _The longer you stay here the more likely you are to be discovered.'_

Howie nodded, pushing the suits off him and looking around. The beach was slightly emptier than before and several things were on fire. He shook his head, smiling at his AI's deterrent.

' _Sir, I believe there is something you might need, over by the cliff side.'_

Howie nodded, making his way quickly to the cliff. He had to jump over several large pieces of debris, frowning when he saw parts of his house just discarded on the sand. He made it to the cliff, searching around for something that FRIDAY might have meant. His right foot hurt slightly, bare to the elements but he continued.

' _Go up, sir, and to the right._ ' She sounded happy, like they were just playing a game. ' _Just follow the path.'_

Howie smiled slightly, looking at the cliff side. There was a small path marked in, barely visible but definitely there. He stayed close to the cliff, shuffling along as he climbed. Finally, about half up, he found what he was looking for; his backpack, half open but untouched by water.

He instantly began rummaging around, smiling at the contents. His glasses were still in there, explaining how FRIDAY found it, plus most of his clothes. He pulled on some shoes, his glasses, a new shirt and his hoody, keeping the hood over his head. He looked down at his still wet camo trousers, wishing he could change but knowing he couldn't walk around in shorts. He checked the suit parts, finding both boots and one of the gloves. The rest must have fallen out but at least the photo album was still there. He pulled it out, looking at the first page, where his mother's note was stuck.

He ran a finger over the B at the bottom, looking across at the neighbours house. With the glasses on, he knew FRIDAY was looking at him.

'Hey, Fri. I've got a favour to ask.'

 _'Of course, sir. Anything.'_

Howie looked down, taking a deep breath. 'I want you to find my mum.'

* * *

Pepper looked across the ocean, taking a deep breath. Maya had given her a card, giving her a place to meet. It was a hotel in Malibu, a rather famous one that Tony had taken several girls to over the years, just to show off. She would head over there later and drive Maya to a less well known place so they could talk. Pepper didn't want to be paranoid but it didn't hurt to be cautious about it. Her house had just been destroyed.

Pepper bent down, picking up Tony's helmet and holding it close to her chest. She walked forward slightly, looking over the cliff edge. She saw a flash of movement down on the beach and her eyebrows shot up. She turned to the people behind her, members of Stark Industries Security.

'Can you send some one down there? To look for Tony and Howie?'

'Of course, Miss Potts.' One of them smiled kindly. 'Two of our crew are already on the beach.'

Pepper nodded, looking downwards. The official report was that both Starks were dead and the news was already talking about who would save America now, what would happen to SI, etc. Pepper had mostly ignored the reporters but it seemed to be everywhere. Everyone knew she had lost them and she didn't even have JARVIS to comfort her.

Taking a deep breath again, she watched the SI workers scanning the beach, carefully stepping over the rubble. Her face dropped when, after scanning everything with Stark Tech, they turned away with lowered heads, clearly having found nothing.

'Miss Potts.' The same worker said, moving to her side. 'Reports say looters will be here in a bit. Do you want us to get rid of them?'

Pepper looked down. It was her house but none of the statues, artwork or anything else seemed important anymore. 'No, its fine. The only thing that worries me is the suits, but they're only coded to Tony.'

The man nodded, looking down. People had already started to swarm the beach, picking up whatever they could carry. He nudged Pepper when one of the suits set on fire, firing off weapons in every direction. Pepper looked up, the corner of her mouth curling upwards slightly.

'Will that be all Miss Potts?'

Pepper nodded slightly and the worker waved the rest of the crew away. They all left, a few of SI's longer running employees stopping to squeeze Pepper's shoulder before they went. She managed to lift her head to nod at each of them, holding Tony's helmet closer as they went.

She looked down at the helmet, slowly slipping it onto her head. She watched as the screen lit up, scanning her face.

' _Stark Secure Server. Retinal scan verified.'_

Pepper's entire face lit up when Tony's voice played in her ears. She could only hope he had Howie with him.

'Pepper it's me. I've got a lot of apologies to make and not a lot of time, so first off. I'm so sorry I put you in harm's way. That was selfish and stupid and it won't happen again.'

Pepper laughed gently, shaking her head. She knew Tony couldn't keep that promise but it was still nice to hear him say it, nice to hear him say anything.

'Tell Howie I'm fine.'

Pepper's laugh cut off, the light leaving her eyes. He didn't know.

'Whoever attacked us might still be after him, so make sure he stays safe, stays hidden. Tell him the suits are at-'

Pepper took the helmet off, throwing it down the cliff. She didn't want to listen anymore, didn't want him to talk when he didn't know what happened to Howie and she couldn't tell him anything.

She didn't know where Tony was, or if he was hurt. All she knew was Howie had fallen without a suit and was probably dead.

* * *

Howie was dead tired. His legs hurt, his arms were weak at his side and he couldn't get rid of the static in his ears.

'FRIDAY, find me somewhere to sleep. No where special, somewhere I wont be noticed.'

He had been walking for hours, too scared to get on public transport in case someone recognised him. His metal leg had become water logged, making it harder to move but he couldn't stop to fix it. He had to keep going, had to reach somewhere safe.

' _Sir, there is a police station ahead. I'd turn left now.'_

He did so, wanting to avoid anywhere with authority. He couldn't risk it, people could be looking for him and he could be delivered to the people who blew up his house. No one had come to help when they were attacked, so Howie felt it unsafe to trust anyone.

' _There is a railway station ahead sir. You can sleep there.'_

Howie rolled his eyes slightly but had to admit it would be a great place to rest. Every time he had gone to the station as a child, he had seen multiple people sleeping on the platforms, despite his dad's company donating billions of dollars into homeless shelters and charities for them. Nothing they did seemed to do much but they kept donating. With a cruel irony, he was now needing their help to hide.

He had tried to contact his father three times to no avail. FRIDAY had been unable to find him or patch through to JARVIS. She said the other AI was likely offline, which was no help for Howie. He would have to do everything with just FRIDAY's help. Not that the AI wasn't useful, but she was still a prototype and not as useful as his father's computerised butler.

He found himself in the train station and decided to sit down, pulling his leg out of his hip and putting it in his bag. He took the spare shoe and placed it in front of him, moving the bag around so it was held against his chest as he laid down. He tied the laces of the spare shoe to the one still on his foot and placed his glasses and hand in the bag. It scared him slightly how easily he turned himself into a beggar.

'Friday. Wake me up in forty minutes or if someone tries to steal my stuff.'

' _Yes, sir.'_

He closed his eyes, curling up around his bag. He winced at the static in his ears, trying to move around so he couldn't hear it. He pulled the comm out of his ear, holding it tight but the noise didn't stop. He whimpered slightly, desperately trying to get to sleep. Still wincing, the noise only getting louder, he closed his eyes, trying to force himself to sleep. A moment ago he had been so tired he thought he was going to collapse and, now he was lying down, it seemed like he was wide awake.

About fifteen minutes later, he managed to get himself into an uneasy sleep. He tossed and turned as he slept, images plaguing his sleep. Images of his house breaking around him, off being left in a dark room to die, of falling through space and the portal growing big enough just in time.

He sat bolt upright, breathing heavily. He looked around, his eyes widening as he looked. He was in a field, with no city around. He scrambled to grab his glasses out of his bag, putting the comm back in his ear as he stammered.

'Fri, Fri, what's going on? Wh-where are we, did we get kidnapped?'

' _No, sir. I would have alerted you if such a thing were to happen.'_

'Then what...what happened? How did I get here?' He was beginning to panic, multiple possibilities running through his head, none of them good. There were so many people who could have kidnapped him without being in the same room, magic and mutants making anything possible.

 _'Sir, I am searching for the station's CCTV. Please calm down.'_

Howie breathed heavily, trying to still his heart rate. He put his hand over his eyes, counting back from ten in Russian, like Natasha had taught him. When he was finished, he opened his eyes again and scrambled to stand, pressing his back to the wall that had appeared behind him. He almost fell over, balancing on one foot and he reattached his hand and leg as quickly as he could. He was in an alleyway, how did he get to an alleyway.

'FRIDAY...what is happening?!'

 _'I believe the relocation is linked to emotional state, sir. We seem to be moving each time your pulse gets over 140 beats per minute. Calm down sir.'_

Howie breathed heavily, keeping his eyes open this time. He didn't want anymore random changes of setting. 'Okay. Have you got the footage yet?'

' _Yes, sir. It'll show up now.'_

Howie had to focus his eyes, closing the left one so he could easier watch his right lens. A video flashed up, showing him curled up on the ground, several people stopping to put money in his shoe. In the alley, Howie bent down to grab the money, stuffing it in his backpack.

On the screen, Howie tossed in his sleep, his face pinched up. As the sleeping boy began to whimper, his hand turning white as it gripped his bag, something formed around him. Once the shape, pure black, circular and fading out at the edges, had fully formed around Howie, the middle changed, showing a field and Howie fell through it, landing softly. The portal stayed for barely a second before disappearing.

'Seriously.' Howie said, staring as the image disappeared. 'You think I did that.'

' _It's very possible you have the X gene, sir. It may have only just activated.'_

Howie nodded, stunned. He narrowed his eyes, holding his hands out. As he concentrated, a small gap in the air appeared above his hands, disappearing as soon as Howie lost his concentration. The bigger ones must have been an involuntary reaction. He tried again, several times, managing to get slightly better results each time but nothing like he had done while panicked. With a grin on his face, he turned to the entrance of the alley.

'All right, Fri. Where are we?'

 _'Tallahassee, sir. About twenty minutes from your mother's house.'_

Howie nodded his head sideways. The AI had predicted it would take him days to reach Tallahassee and he had made it in less than six hours. He was liking his mutation more and more each second. 'Well, how about that. Lead the way.'

Directions popped up on his glasses and Howie moved through the streets, heading for the house shown on the screen. He headed through the neighbourhood, noticing the increasing amount of 'For Sale' signs as he got closer to where his mother lived. He stopped outside the house, two stories and quite big. He walked past the gate, steeling himself as he knocked on the door.

The woman who opened the door glared at him, her green eyes boring into his. Howie held out his metal hand for her to shake with her purple one.

'Hi, you must be Clarice Ferguson. My name's Howard and I'm your son.'


	5. Chapter 5

Clarice Ferguson stared down at the boy on her doorstep, wondering if she should slam the door in his face. No one should have known about her son, outside her friends she had told personally. They knew that giving up her son had been a dreadfully difficult decision and would never betray her trust by telling someone else without her decision.

She narrowed her eyes, ignoring the boy's offered hand. 'Who told you about that?'

The boy's smile dropped and he pulled his hood down. Clarice's lips pursed as she fully took in the green eyes and familiarly shaped face. He was definitely Tony's son, he even had her father's light brown hair. Lowering his hand, he started fiddling with his bag, trying to get something else.

'No one told me. Well, FRIDAY, she's an AI, found out who you were through CCTV and the handwriting on your note.'

'My note?' She said, trying to process what he was saying. He was speaking very quickly and she assumed he was very nervous.

'Yeah, yeah, I've got it here.' He finally pulled out a book, showing her the front page. She smiled at the letter stuck there, remembering write it. She forced herself not to tear up, looking down at the child she now knew was definitely hers. He smiled up at her, his grin very wide. 'What does the B stand for?'

'Blink! Everything okay?'

'It's fine, Piotr!' She shouted back, holding a hand out to stop Howard looking past her. 'It is fine, isn't it, Howard?'

'Is what fine?' He said, bouncing slightly on his heels. He put the photo album away. 'If you're busy, I can go, I just needed somewhere to stay for a bit. Oh, and its Howie, by the way.'

She shook her head, holding the door open and ushering him in. 'No, no, you can stay, as long as you don't have a problem with sleeping in a mutant safe house.'

The way Howie's face lit up suggested he definitely didn't have an issue. He tried to look past and she held her hand out again.

'Are there X-Men here?' He said, eyes lighting up. As he raised a hand to pull off his hoody, Clarice noticed a small patch of purple skin forming on his knuckles.

'Technically. Not including me, there's three but they're all on leave at the moment.'

'Why?' Howie said, stuffing his hoody into his bag.

'Well, some people decide to actually raise their kids.' She said, wincing as soon as the words were out.

Howie, who was taking his shoes off, shrugged. 'Eh, some people are stupid.'

Clarice nodded, walking into the dining room. She smiled at the people at the table, walking into the kitchen. Howie followed her in, skidding to a stop at the table and staring at the people sat there. His eyes were wide and the two men, sat beside their wives, glared.

'Is there a problem?' The blue furred one said, handing the baby in his arms to the dark skinned woman beside him and standing up.

Clarice stuck her head round the door of the kitchen, glaring at Howie in hopes that it would get his attention. Instead, he just grinned at Kurt, Kitty and Piotr, clearly wanting to ask them loads of questions.

'Howard.' She said, causing his grin to drop. 'Could you come in here?'

'Howie, Howie. Everyone calls me Howie.' He muttered as he walked around them. The little steel skinned girl next to Kitty leant round to look at him. He smiled, waving his prosthetic hand. She grinned widely waving her own metal hand. 'I only wanted an autograph.'

'You were staring.' Clarice said, pulling him into the kitchen. He sat down on the counter, disconnecting his entire leg and tinkering with it. 'It's rude.'

'I'm sorry but Nightcrawler and Shadowcat are out there.' Howie said, as if what he was saying was obvious. 'They're so cool. They were in Excalibur.'

'Still rude to stare.' She said. 'What are you doing?'

'Fixing my leg. It got a bit water logged and I've got to leave tomorrow.'

'Why? Where are you going?'

'New York. I have a friend there, he'll help me out.'

Clarice nodded, taking the food she had been preparing out to the others. They smiled at her, Kitty and Amanda shifting their babies so they could eat easier.

'You staying Clarice?' Kitty said, spooning some pasta onto her daughter's plate.

'I need to speak to Howie.' She shrugged. 'We'll come in soon.'

'Yeah, who is he?' Kurt said, stopping his son from jumping into the food with his tail.

'My son.' Clarice said, watching their faces cloud over. All four had met him when he was a baby. 'But don't say anything, I don't want to freak him out.'

They all nodded, waving her away. Howie, still sat on the counter but with his leg back in place, raised an eyebrow. 'What'll freak me out?'

'I'll tell you some other time.' She pulled herself up onto the counter opposite him, raising an eyebrow. 'You don't have anything against mutants?'

He shrugged. 'My best friend's a giant wolf and I'm half machine. Can't exactly judge.'

'So, if you were to discover you were one...'

His brow furrowed. 'Can you tell just by looking at someone? I thought very few could do that.'

'No but the purple on your knuckles is a bit of a clue.'

He turned his hand over, raising an eyebrow slightly at the skin there. He didn't seem upset or even shocked, just interested.

'How did you know you were a mutant?' She said, as he ran his metal fingers over the skin. As she looked at him, she spotted other tiny patches of purple, probably ignored and assumed to be bruises. It reminded her a bit of vitiligo, although his skin was gaining colour rather than losing it.

'Huh?' He said, finally glancing up. 'Oh, yeah. Don't move.'

He held his hands out, concentrating hard. A small portal appeared above both his palms. Clarice grabbed an apple, throwing it through one and delighting when it came out the other. The portals disappeared, Howie blinking up at her.

'Sorry, lost my concentration. I can make bigger ones when I'm panicked.'

Clarice smiled. 'What like these?'

She spread her hands wide, multiple portals appearing around the room. Howie's mouth opened wide in amazement and he put a hand through the nearest portal, laughing when it appeared on the other side of room. Clarice watched him with a grin, her smile slipping slightly when his did. His eyes widened as he looked at the portals, eyes drooping. His lips pursed and he dropped his hand.

'Why'd you give me up?' He said quietly, not looking up.

She sighed, taking a moment to chose the right words. It was a difficult thing to explain, especially to the person who it affected the most.

'I wasn't going to. I was going to raise you at Xavier's, surrounded by dozens of people that would love you but the mansion was attacked. Dozens of soldiers raided the place, you were almost killed. I couldn't risk that again, so I gave you to Tony. I thought you'd be safe there, I really did.'

'I was, I am.' He said, trying to comfort her. 'Mostly, anyway.'

She smiled. 'I know, I asked Xavier to keep a eye on you. When you got back from Afghanistan, Scott and Jean had to force me to stay in America. I really wanted to hurt those terrorists.'

'Dad got them. In the end.'

She nodded. 'When you flew through that wormhole...I was terrified. Don't you ever do that again.'

He smiled, small but genuine. 'I'll try.'

She smiled back, dispersing all the portals once he removed his arm. 'Come on. Lets see if they left us any food. After lunch I'll teach you how to make better portals.'

He grinned, jumping off the counter.

* * *

'You know what keeps going through my head?' Tony said, fixing Harley with a stare. The boy looked up at him, eyebrows raised. 'Where's my sandwich?'

Harley rolled his eyes but walked off, leaving the newspaper on the side. Tony leant over the suit, checking the metal and seeing if the hinges were still smooth. It would work, probably, but without JARVIS, he couldn't call it. He was sort of stuck.

He flopped in the nearest seat, grabbing the newspaper. He might as well read what they were saying about him and check up on Howie and Pepper. His eyes instantly latched onto the headline, his brow furrowing slightly.

 _Iron Men gone for good?_

'Men?' Tony muttered, refusing to think about what that could mean, convincing himself it was just a typo. He flicked to the correct page, reading over the report. Luckily, it wasn't written but one of his old flames because he had gotten sick of how they wrote about him.

 _If someone had told the Stark boys they were taking a risk when they decided to challenge a terrorist, I doubt they would have listened. Both Anthony and Howard II Stark would probably have seen it at a challenge._

Tony frowned at that. He would have but not Howie. Howie would have listened to people, as long as it was someone who he trusted.

 _Of course, it's very possible someone did tell them. Virginia 'Pepper' Potts, CEO of Stark Industries and Tony Stark's live in girlfriend or Elizabeth Rogers, recently returned from the dead, away on SHIELD business and dating Howie Stark, both could have dissuaded them. But if they tried it didn't work and now the whole world has to reap the consequences._

Tony rolled his eyes, picking up a nearby screwdriver and fiddling with the suit. He left the paper on the chest plate, so he could still read as he fiddled.

 _Yesterday, at about 11am, helicopters were seen outside Stark Mansion in Malibu, the address of which Tony Stark had given out the day before. The helicopters made quick work of the house, destroying it in minute. To fully see what happened, visit our website._

Tony rolled his eyes, as Harley brought him a sandwich. He smiled at the kid, taking a bite and holding up his hand in a spot on gesture. Harley glanced at the paper but Tony shooed him away, getting a small laugh out of the boy.

 _There was retaliation from the Starks but the footage suggests only one of them was fighting. An eye witness claimed that only the elder Stark was in a suit, begging the question of what Howie was doing while Tony defended their home. Cowering in a corner, perhaps? Howard Stark is probably known best for hiding away when things get tough._

Tony took a deep breath. They were being mean about his son. Howie wasn't a coward, he had helped save the world. He had flown into a wormhole just so Tony didn't have to die alone. As soon as the Mandarin mess was over, Tony was going to make sure the writer of the article lost their job.

 _But, despite Tony's best efforts, he was just too outmatched. It wasn't long until Tony, or at least his suit, was seen falling into the water and Howie was seen tumbling in after him, without a suit. Whatever reason the younger Stark had for not helping, it certainly backfired on him. Neither Stark has been found and experts are saying its very unlikely either survived. There is a possibility that, as he was in the suit, Tony survived but many have given up hope for Howie._

 _Starks, if you're out there, good luck with whatever it is you're doing and stay safe. If you're not, we all miss you._

Tony crumbled the paper, throwing it away from himself. His breathing was getting ragged and he couldn't focus. His son was dead. Howie, the boy he had raised from a month old, was gone and Tony hadn't been with him. In fact, he had challenged the people who killed him, he had drawn them to the house

He was responsible for Howie's death.

Tony started crying, unable to make the tears stop.

* * *

'And...smile!'

The camera flashed, Amanda grinning as she put it down. The babies had been put to bed and their siblings had been giving toys to play with. The five adults and one teenager were in the living room, Howie getting a picture with the X-Men. They'd all wanted Amanda in the picture but she had shook her head, taking it instead, using an old camera that printed instantly.

She handed Howie the photo as they all sat down, each couple to a sofa, Howie and Clarice sitting on armchairs.

'So where you headed next Howie?' Amanda asked, leaning slightly against Kurt. They had been chatting over lunch, and he had managed to explain most of the story to them.

'New York. I have a friend there who'll look help me.'

'Help you do what?' Piotr said, leaning forward, resting a hand on Kitty's knee. 'You didn't say what your plans are.'

Howie shrugged, resting on one elbow. 'I have to help my dad. FRIDAY will be able to track the Mandarin, and James'll get me in to his base. He's quite good at breaking into places.'

'Don't you want some help?' Clarice said, eyebrow furrowing. 'You could get hurt.'

Howie shrugged again. 'I mainly need help getting there, and its better if there's less of us, then we're less likely to be hurt. Besides, James can't actually get hurt.'

'Let me guess, the Monstrosity?' Kurt said with a smirk.

'I think its a stupid name but yeah, that's him.' Howie smiled, turning to look at his mother. 'Is it alright if we go now?'

'Now?' She said, eyes going wide. 'Don't you want to stay a bit longer?'

Howie smiled sadly. 'Very much, yes. But, I sort of have to help my dad.'

Clarice nodded, standing up. 'Alright then. I'll be back in a bit guys. You still have that money I gave you?'

The last bit was directed at Howie, who nodded, patting his bag. 'You didn't have to.'

'Twelve missing years of Christmas and birthday presents kind of says I do.' She smiled, rubbing her hands together.

Howie turned to the others, grinning. 'See you around, I guess.'

Kitty launched out her chair, hugging him. He froze slightly and blushed, but didn't push her away. When she pulled away she smiled at him, cupping his face briefly. He smiled back, stepping through the portal his mother had made. He glanced around the alleyway as Clarice followed him, closing the portal.

'What was that about?' He said, pulling his hoody back on.

'Let's just say you have a lot more godparents than you think.' She said, smiling. She placed a hand on his shoulder, looking him in the eye. 'Stay safe, okay. I don't want to read about my son dying for the fourth time.'

'Fourth?' Howie frowned. 'When was the third?'

'This morning.' She said, winking slightly. 'Now go find you friend.'

He nodded, turning around. He wondered if he should have hugged her but you don't hug people you've know four hours, even if they did give birth to you. Howie stepped out of the alley, glancing around at New York. He spotted the building James worked in and smirked to himself.

Time to get to work.


	6. Chapter 6

'So how's work?'

James glanced up at the screen, smiling at the girl shown there. Sophie's pink and purple hair had been pinned back at the sides and she was grinning mischievously at him. James smoothed down his short black curls, making sure his glasses were on straight. He glanced at the nearest mirror, wincing at the spots on his tanned skin and bags beneath his brown eyes. So much for looking good for the girlfriend.

'I thought you were meant to be cut off from all communication.'

'I was. Did you really think I would _stay_ cut off?'

For a moment the two just stared at each other, eyebrows quirked. Finally, James smiled and Sophie laughed, the two descending into giggles as James tried to type on the other computer.

'Work's good.' He said eventually, continuing to write. 'I have to get this article finished for tomorrow. Oh, don't let me forget to interview you.'

'Interview me?' Sophie said with a coy grin. 'Why ever would you need to do that?'

He rolled his eyes, typing the last few words of his article. 'The boss wants me and Pete to do this six page spread on the Avengers for the New York anniversary. I need interviews and pictures of everyone.'

'You've got months.'

'Four.' James pointed out. 'It's just lucky I knew about this before the Asgardians left. I'd never be able to complete it otherwise.'

Sophie smiled, though it didn't reach her eyes. They were silent for a moment until she spoke, voice low. 'We're avoiding the subject.'

He nodded, not meeting her eyes. 'Completely ignoring it.'

She sighed, running a hand through her hair. 'Do you know what happened?'

He shook his head, staring into space. 'I spoke to Howie yesterday morning, before everything happened. Hung up, got on with work, and then someone rushed into the office saying the Stark Mansion had been blown up.'

'So you don't know anything?' Sophie frowned.

'No more than you.' James sighed. 'How did you find out about it?'

'One of our dick trainers decided it would be funny to tell Lizzie when she was swinging from the high wire. She barely managed to hold on.'

'Asshole.' He scowled, eyes narrowing. 'Was she okay?'

'Yeah, yeah.' Sophie said quickly. 'She made the swing alright and got to sit back as our handler shouted at the trainer for twenty minutes.'

'Brilliant.' James grinned, though it was a sad excuse for a smile. 'What did the guy say to her?'

'The trainer? Told her godfather and boyfriend had been found at the bottom of the sea. I think he said more but she won't tell me.'

'Well, its a lie, tell her that. They haven't found the bodies yet, I know that at least.'

'Yet? You think they're dead?'

'I dunno.' James muttered, looking up at the knock on his door. 'I gotta go, that's probably JJ. I call you as soon as I know something.'

'Okay. Love you.'

'Love you too.' He smiled, closing the window. He looked up at the door. 'Come in.'

The door opened, the person stood there holding several flat boxes and smiling beneath a hood. The boxes were resting on his right hand and he used the left one to wave.

'Pizza for a J Banner.'

James' face pinched at the weirdly deep voice, as if the guy was purposefully disguising his voice. James moved his hand to the topmost drawer on the left, where the taser Natasha had given him for his birthday was hidden.

'I didn't order pizza.' He said, pulling the drawer open.

'No? One meat feast, one ham and pineapple and one margarita. You don't want these?'

He tilted his head and smirked under his hood. James glared slightly.

'My favourite, Howie's favourite and Pete's favourite. What are you trying to pull?'

'Why don't you take the pizza and find out?' The boy said, clearly enjoying himself. He held the boxes out, James scowling up at him. Holding the taser in one hand, he took the pizza with the other, staring down at the familiar metal hand beneath it.

'Surprise!' The boy laughed, knocking his hoody off. 'Miss me.'

'You bastard.' James said, setting the pizzas and taser down and standing up. 'You complete bastard.'

'Well, yeah, tell me something I don't know.'

Howie grinned, opening his arms wide. James laughed, vaulting over the table to grab his friend in a hug. Howie struggled to catch the 5'3" boy before they both fell to the floor, both their glasses falling off. Both of them were laughing fully by the time Howie shoved James away, grabbing his pizza and sitting on Peter's desk. James picked up his own pizza, sitting opposite the older boy and shaking his head. He grabbed the glasses off the floor, handing Howie his as he grinned.

'I can't believe you did that.'

'Don't act like you're not impressed.' Howie smiled through a mouthful of food.

'Oh, it was definitely impressive.' James shrugged. 'Just really cheesy.'

Howie pulled a face. 'It's your dad's trick.'

'Exactly. Papa's trick for picking up girls, that's how cheesy it is. He hasn't used it in over ten years.'

'That's what you think.' Howie said with a raised eyebrow. James rolled his eyes, kicking Howie in the shin. 'Ow! We talked about this, regular people strength remember.'

'Whatever.' James smirked. 'How'd you survive anyway? And how d'you get here so fast?'

'Both those questions can be answered with one answer.' Howie held his hand out, concentrating. A portal, about the size of James' chest appeared between them, a second one appearing behind Howie. With a blink from the older boy, the portals moved so they were either side of him, though they did lose some of their size. Howie dropped his hand and glanced up at James, smiling, as the portals disappeared.

The younger boy raised an eyebrow, looking lost. 'I don't understand.'

Howie's face dropped. 'I'm a mutant. So's my mum, apparently.'

James nodded a couple times, face still blank. 'And a mutant is...'

'Like the X-Men.' Howie said, exasperated. 'Seriously, you work at a newspaper, how do you still not know these things?'

'Hey, I didn't have a TV growing up...or a radio...or access to any form of communication.'

'And yet you still know how everything in our dads' labs works.'

'Well, yeah.' James defended, looking put out. 'I didn't get fairytales as a kid, Papa got me to sleep by...did you hear that?'

Howie glanced up, eyes wide. There was talking outside the door, despite the office being on the top floor and the only one in use on the floor. Howie grabbed his pizza, jumping under James' desk and pressing himself against the wood there. James pulled his chair under, his legs pressing against Howie's side. Howie's metal hand wrapped around James' ankle, the older boy clearly shaking.

The door opened, Peter walking in with a phone pressed to his ear. James visibly relaxed as the teenager sat down, still talking.

'Yes, Wade, I'll talk to you later. No, no, I'll call you. Text me then I'll call you back if its okay. Okay, bye Wade.'

Peter put the phone down, sighing. James raised an eyebrow, shaking off Howie's grip. 'Boyfriend giving you trouble?'

Peter glared at him. 'Shut up, Wade's not my boyfriend. He's just a...stalker.'

'Yeah, I'm sure. Is that what you tell Gwen?' James smirked, standing up to close the door. Peter raised an eyebrow as he locked it but didn't say anything. The teen looked around, eyes landing on the pizza boxes.

'You bought pizza?'

'Um, yeah?' James said, not sounding convinced himself. Beneath the table, Howie rolled his eyes. 'I got you margarita, your favourite, right?'

Peter accepted the pizza with squinted eyes. 'You didn't buy this.'

'What? Yes I did.'

'No because you don't like margarita, you think it's boring. And you only ever buy food you like, regardless of who you're buying for. You would not buy this, what are you trying to pull?'

James sighed, hitting his desk with his knee. Frowning, Howie climbed out, waving at Peter.

'I bought the pizza. And you're lucky he thinks its boring, its the only reason I know you like it.'

Peter turned his gaze to James, clearly annoyed. 'James.'

'Yes, Pete?'

'Why is there a dead guy in our office?'

Howie pulled a face, his eyes narrowing. ' _Why_ does no one react to that?'

'Dude, you've only been alive like, eight months. That's about as long as James' relationship.'

The youngest of the three glared as the other two laughed. 'Why do you have to bring my relationship into everything?'

'Because it's hilarious.' Peter grinned, holding his hand out to Howie. 'Peter Parker.'

'Howard Stark. Howie.' Howie grinned, shaking Peter's hand with his metal one. His eyes narrowed at the back of his hand, some of the wiring sticking out. He started fiddling with it, half listening to the others.

'Nice to meet you. When are we going?'

James beamed, Peter apparently having said exactly the right thing. 'You don't mind then.'

'Course I don't mind. When are we going?'

Howie stopped, face furrowing slightly in confusion. He tapped his ear, trying to get FRIDAY to give him some information. Finally, something flashed up on screen, even as James and Peter smirked at him, very smug.

'Is this helpful, sir?' FRIDAY said as he read the screen. Her voice was as pompous as the others' faces.

'Oh yes.' He said under his breath before looking up at Peter. He raised his voice, holding his hand out again. 'Nice to meet you, Spiderman. Where were you in New York?'

The grin on Peter's face dropped while the one on James' only increased. Both younger boys laughed as Peter glared at the Banner boy.

'You told him?'

'Nope.' Howie grinned, taking off his glasses. 'I just have an excellent AI and a brilliant IQ. Now, can I use your computer.'

James nodded, gesturing for Howie to sit down. Peter glanced between them.

'I assume we're going on a road trip. James has been insisting I do some superhero stuff with you guys since he found out.'

'We are, you're not.' Howie sat down at the desk, pulling the end of his glasses frame and plugging them into the usb slot. 'We need to be convert, can't have extra people tagging along.'

'Covert? So you're taking Monstrosity.' Peter ignored James' noise of protest. 'Besides how are you going to get there, hm? Unless your mutant ability is that good.'

Howie looked up, eyes narrowed. James raised his hands at Peter, trying to ask a question without speaking and annoying Howie more.

The teenage rolled his eyes. 'You have patches of purple skin under your chin and in your hairline. Mutant's a pretty easy guess.'

James stared intently and Howie blushed, turning back to the screen. James tilted his head, throwing his pizza box in the bin. 'What are you doing?'

'Finding the Mandarin's base.' Howie shrugged, eating his last slice. 'FRIDAY already decrypted the file, she just needed an easier access to the internet to pinpoint it. And, hear we are.'

Howie scanned the screen, rolling his eyes. 'Miami, Florida. I was just in Florida, this is ridiculous.'

'And now we're going back with you.' Peter said, throwing the last of his pizza in the bin. 'Grab your stuff, I'll drive.'

James grinned, Howie rolling his eyes at both of them.

* * *

'Fun fact.' Maya said, her eyes distant. 'Before he built rockets for the Nazis, the idealistic Werner von Braun dreamed of space travel... he stargazed.'

Pepper frowned sympathetically. She wanted to say something, but she could tell the other woman wasn't finished, and needed to get things off her chest.

'You know what he said when the first V2 hit London? The rocket performed perfectly. It just landed on the wrong planet.' Maya looked Pepper dead in the eyes, a haunted look behind her irises. 'See we all begin wide-eyed... "pure science". Then the ego steps in, the obsession. And when you look up, you're a long way from shore.'

'You can't be too hard on yourself, Maya.' Pepper said, feeling now would be a good time to talk. Maya seemed so broken. 'I mean you gave your research to a think tank.'

'Yeah but Killian built that think tank on military contracts.'

'That's exactly what we used to do.' Pepper smiled slightly. 'So don't judge yourself.'

'Thank you, Pepper. I really appreciate that.'

There was a knock on the door and Pepper stood, glad for the distraction. She herself had a lot on her mind and needed to keep her mind off the boys. She had tried to ring James Banner, first at the Bugle, then at Stark Tower but both offices had said he wasn't there, he had just shot off in the middle of the night. She had worried about the boy for a while but realised he and his dad had been on the run his whole life and he was used to hiding. James had probably gotten scared when Stark Mansion was attacked and decided to lay low for a bit. Didn't explain why his partner at the Bugle had also disappeared.

Pepper opened the door, forcing a smile on her face as the room service man looked up slightly. Maya must have ordered something.

'Hi, good evening.' She said, keeping her voice calm.

'Good evening.' He said, the voice making Pepper frown.

'Come on in.' She said, opening the door fully. As the man walked in, he raised his head completely, grinning at Pepper. She flinched away, turning and screaming. 'Maya, run!'

Killian grabbed her throat, shutting the door behind him. He smiled at her again, incredibly smug. 'Hi Pepper.'

Maya looked up and for a second Pepper thought she was going to help her. But instead, Maya just tilted her at Killian, looking annoyed more than anything else.

He raised an eyebrow. 'So you want to tell me why you were at Stark's mansion last night?'

Maya glared at him. 'I'm trying to fix this thing. I didn't know you and the Master were gonna blow the place up.'

Pepper clawed at Killian's arm, to no avail. His grip around her neck merely tightened briefly and he didn't even look at her.

'Oh I see.' He said, almost sarcastically. His words were slow, like he wanted the two women to take in every syllable. 'So you were trying to save Stark...when he...threatened us?'

'I told you, Killian.' Maya said, her face pinching slightly. 'We can use him.'

While he was looking away, Pepper tried to hit Killian's face, stretching her arms out as far as she could. He finally glanced back at her, shaking his head slightly. He opened his mouth, clearly ready to start a monologue.

'Pepper, Pepper, Pepper-'

'Look, if we to launch product next year, I need Stark.' Maya said, glaring at Killian and catching his attention. 'He just lacked a decent incentive. Now he has one.'

Killian tilted his head to the side, looking at Pepper critically. 'I'd have preferred the boy. Romantic relationships can be... temperamental but any good father will do anything for his kids.'

'I tried to get Howie.' Maya shrugged. 'But this'll do, won't it?'

Killian smirked. 'Yes. I suppose it will.'


	7. Chapter 7

Peter Parker had thought he knew his work partner quite well. He had been working with James for over five months now and had gotten used to his quirks and habits. He knew James woke up at five every morning to go for a run, sometimes stealing some food if he went through a market or past a stall. It wasn't that James got hungry, he just had a habit of grabbing things. Peter knew most of the food James liked he hadn't tried until eight months previously and that James was constantly forgetting he was allergic to strawberries and blueberries because he'd never needed to remember before. He knew James could be rude and uncaring, and often didn't see the point in telling a lie, even if it spared someone's feelings.

Peter knew James really cared for his friends, and had formed an attachment to them almost instantly. He knew James video called Sophie everyday if he could and Howie every other day. Peter had spoken to the girls once and had realised how awkward James had been around Lizzie, though both of them did seem to try and chat. Bruce Banner rang the office once a week and Peter had picked it up once, talking to Bruce and his handler, an Agent Romanoff.

But all these things he knew about James didn't explain why he and Howie had decided to rent the most expensive three-bed room in the motel and were currently in bed together. Peter was holding food when he walked in, paid for with money James and Howie had stolen. He should be mad but, considering the amount of food he had been able to get, he couldn't be too upset.

'What are you doing?' He said, raising an eyebrow at the two boys. They were both ready for bed, which meant they were both shirtless, and were tucked under the covers of Howie's bed. They were too close, too affectionate for pre-teen boys who hadn't even known each other a year, even if they hadn't known anyone else beforehand.

James pointed at the computer across both their knees. 'Planning for Christmas. We finished figuring out how we'll get around the base.'

'And it required you to be under the covers?'

Howie shrugged. 'We got cold.'

'Put a shirt on then.'

The younger boys looked at each other, as if shocked that neither of them had thought of that. Peter rolled his eyes.

'Get some sleep, boys.' He said, putting the food next to Howie's bag. 'We need to leave early tomorrow, so we can get to Florida quickly.'

James yawned, rolling out of the bed and hitting the floor. Howie laughed shortly, disconnecting his arm. He put it to the side with his leg and looked up at Peter.

'Talking of Christmas, do you want to come? We'll be in New York, the tower has enough floors ready.'

Peter shrugged, getting into his own bed. 'Can my aunt come?'

'Does she know about your alter ego?' James said, pulling his covers over him. 'We don't have no secrets in Avengers tower.'

'No, she doesn't.' Peter frowned.

'Well, you should tell her.' Howie yawned, turning the light off beside him.

'I'll think about it.' Peter nodded, turning the other light off. The three of them went silent, all drifting off into sleep.

Peter and Howie tossed and turned all night, neither speaking because they thought the other was asleep. James, on the other hand, went out quickly, falling into an easy, deep sleep. Howie stared up at the ceiling, thinking of his dad, wondering where he was and what the boys were going to do when they found him. Part of Howie wanted to just join his mother and other mutants, rather than stay with his father. But he had only known Clarice for a day and still loved his dad more. He wanted to stay with Tony, to stay a kid for as long as possible.

' _No! Leave me alone!_ '

Howie and Peter sat up, Peter struggling to turn on the light. James was in his bed, eyes still closed but the rest of his body on edge. He was thrashing about, his muscles straining and skin stretching slightly. A faint green tinge was spreading over his skin, starting from his heart.

Howie jumped out of his bed, shaking James quickly, even as the younger boy began to screaming. Howie grabbed his shoulder, pushing him down and shouting his name.

'James! James, wake up, its a nightmare!'

James' eyes flew open, a tremendous storm of brown and green. Howie stared right back at him, his own darker green irises boring into James'. The younger boy finally relaxed, breathing heavily.

'Same dream?' Howie muttered.

'What colour?' James said, staring up at Howie. The look on the Stark boy's face showed it was the dream he thought it was.

'Green and brown, buddy. Nope, just brown. You're okay, Jim, remember?'

James nodded, scrambling out of his bed, pulling his phone out of his bag. He tapped in a few buttons, holding the phone to his ear. He walked off towards the bathroom, wiping his eyes as he went. He was still shaking but, as he passed Peter, the other boy was happy to see only brown in his eyes.

'Papa?' James muttered, voice quivering. 'Oh hey, Natasha, is my Papa there? I really need to speak to him.'

James' voice trailed off as he shut the door behind him, Howie slumping as soon as it closed.

'What was that about?' Peter said with a raised eyebrow.

'He gets nightmares.' Howie shrugged, climbing into his own bed. 'Another him with blue eyes attacking him. They've been getting worse, I think, but he won't tell me much more than that.'

Peter glanced at the closed door. 'Should we...?'

'No.' Howie shook his head, gesturing for Peter to get back into bed. 'He'll be fine, he just needs space. I'm surprised he didn't tell you about it.'

Peter shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant as he turned the light off. Truth was he hadn't known about it, not a single thing and he had worked with James for four months, had spent numerous nights around James' house without him reacting like that.

If he didn't know about that, what else were the small heroes keeping from him.

* * *

James looked up at the huge building in front if him, ignoring the two people either side of him. Both were watching him out of the corner of their eyes, trying not to pity him. James, struggling not to yawn, just stared at the building, hoping they could get on with their mission with the older boys trying to give him therapy.

'Doesn't look like a terrorist's base, does it?' James said, looking sideways at Howie. 'You sure this is the right place?'

The twelve year old nodded, frowning slightly. 'It's got to be. Everyone ready?'

James nodded, although there wasn't really much he could do to get ready. Howie had a repulsor glove on his left hand and his suit's boots on each foot. His hair was tied back in a small bunch, keeping it out of his face. Peter had his Spiderman uniform on under his clothes, his web slingers ready to work. James was just in his regular clothes, a spare set in Howie's bag. Like his dad, he didn't get a suit.

'As ready as I'll ever be.' Peter said from James' other side. 'Let's go.'

Peter put a hand on James' back, pushing him forward gently. James rolled his eyes, shrugging Peter off and followed Howie in, leaving his shoes behind. He walked across the tiles silently, glancing back at Peter to confirm the teenage was coming. Peter tucked James' shoes out of the way and followed the other two. He pulled his hood over his head and James rolled his eyes, stepping into the building after Howie.

'Shouldn't there be guards around?' James hissed at Howie, looking down at the heart rate monitor on his wrist. It didn't always trigger a transformation but a high heart rate was never good for James, especially in enclosed spaces.

'Probably.' Howie whispered back. 'But this is the least used entrance, according to FRIDAY.'

'I hate your AI sometimes.' James grumbled. 'I want one.'

Howie grinned over his shoulder, winking at James. Behind them, Peter rolled his eyes.

'We need to find somewhere to hide. We got lucky no one was there.'

The younger boys nodded, James raising an eyebrow at Howie. The older of the two adjusted his glasses, James copying out of habit.

'There should be a ventilation shaft a couple corridors down. You guys alright with climbing through the vents?'

James scoffed. 'It's cramped and annoying but we all know you don't mind it, don't we. Lets get on with this.'

Peter frowned, pinching James's shoulder as Howie's face dropped slightly. James barely glanced back at Peter, not thinking what he said was too bad. If it was, he was sure Howie would have been more upset or at least said something.

'This way.'

James resisted the urge to roll his eyes at Howie's clipped tone. Okay, so maybe Howie was a bit mad, but he could at least grow up and say something about it. James stopped slightly, rubbing his forehead and blinking rapidly. He shook his head, trying to clear it.

Peter pushed past James when the curly haired boy didn't move. Peter pulled on James' shirt, pulling him after Howie. James looked up, tugging on Peter's sleave.

'Should I apologise?' He muttered, not wanting Howie to hear. He couldn't believe he had said that.

'Yes.' Peter said, not looking back but slowing so he could wrap an arm around James' shoulders. 'But not now. Apologise later, when we're not in a terrorist base.'

James smiled sadly, Peter's grip around his shoulders tightening slightly. They enter the corridor Howie was in, the billionaire's son looking up at an open vent.

'Ready to experience cramped and uncomfortable?' He said, tilting his head sideways. James winced, shrugging slightly. Howie shook his head, jumping up to grab the opening. He missed, landing with a small crash.

James froze, eyes widening. Beside him, Peter looked around, scowling.

'Someone's coming.' They said at the same time, James rushing forward to help Howie up. The older boy complained as he was lifted to the opening, but pulled himself up anyway.

Howie was only just out of sight when someone shouted behind James. 'Hey, you two! Don't move!'

Peter growled, slinging a web at them. James pulled his backpack, which carried his share of their supplies and jumped up, gripping the ledge with one hand. Howie tried to help him up but James threw the bag at him, forcing him back down the vent. Something pulled at James' ankle and he kicked out, dropping down to fight.

He punched the person nearest him as soon as he landed, ducking as Peter swung over his head. James couldn't transform, because Howie was in the vents and transforming would probably kill him. But he could utilise some of the Monstrosity's strength, enough to do some serious damage.

He ran forwards, charging through the men lining the corridor. Behind him, Peter cried out but, when James looked, he seemed to be managing fine, having trapped six people in webs. Slightly distracted, James turned to punch again, eyes widening when the woman he was aiming for simply grabbed his fist, twisting his arm backwards painfully. James screamed as something snapped, falling to his knees. His knuckles were burning and he had to calm down. He couldn't transform. Couldn't endanger his friends.

Something hit his back and he groaned, collapsing forward. He heard Peter shouting behind him and tried to turn but something jammed into his neck. He tried to swing his good arm backwards but he was sluggish, something seeping through his blood. He tilted his head, seeing Peter collapse as someone injected something into his arm.

James could just see someone look into the vent as his world went black.

* * *

'Nothing.' The voice at the entrance of the ventilation shaft said. 'Whoever they were with, they're gone now.'

Howie waited a few moments, until he heard the grate being moved back across. He uncurled, his pulse slowing and the portals either side of him disappearing. He breathed heavily, grateful for the amount of noise James and Peter had made while fighting. He had been able to grab James' bag, scramble to the end of the vent, turning the corner and keep himself out of sight. In his panic, he had thrown the bag away from him but the portals had appeared around him, the bag landing at his feet.

Howie slowly picked up the bag James had thrown at him, moving it onto his back slowly. He didn't always understand James, who would change between kindness and spitefulness very quickly, but Howie wasn't going to waste the chance he had been given. He tapped his glasses, a map of the vents appearing on the screen. He pulled himself through the vents, wincing when his boots dragged against the metal. He lifted his feet up, dragging himself along on his knees. He thought of Natasha, when she was pretending to be Natalie, crawling into the vaults to talk to him.

He followed the map, dragging himself along. He wasn't sure where FRIDAY was taking him but he trusted the AI. The map stopped, FRIDAY quietly telling him to wait.

'I wouldn't go in there for twenty minutes.'

Howie's eyes furrowed and he tried to look through the vent. A woman, lying on the bed below, glanced up at him and he shot backward again, heart racing. Closing his eyes he concentrated again, cursing when he couldn't get a portal to appear long enough. He could still hear the man talking but he couldn't place the accent and had no idea who he was. The woman hadn't said anything about Howie being there but the boy wasn't going to risk taking another look.

'There's some guy over there..."

Howie froze but the grate didn't shift, suggesting the people weren't coming for him.

'Hey!'

'Bloody hell, bloody hell.'

'Don't move.'

Howie's brow furrowed and he slowly moved up so he could glance down. As soon as he had looked, he ducked down again, biting his fist to stay silent. His dad was down there, his dad was alive! Howie grinned to himself but forced himself to listen again, needing to know what was going on. If all was safe, he'd reveal himself and help his dad.

'You're not him.' Tony said and Howie rolled his eyes. He had been saying that for ages. 'The Mandarin, the real guy. Where? Where is he? Where's the Mandarin?!'

'He's here, he's here.' The man said and Howie had another look, brow furrowing. The man below was the Mandarin, at least the one from the videos. But he had a different accent and a much less confident demeanor. 'But he's not here. He's here but he's not here.'

'What do you mean?' Tony said, holding a gun.

'It's complicated, hey, it's complicated, alright?'

'It is?' Tony said, clearly getting angry.

'It's complicated.'

'Uncomplicate it.' Tony snarled. 'Ladies, out. Get out of the bed, get into the bathroom. Sit.'

The man sat down and Howie shuffled back again. He pressed a button on his ear piece, starting the recording system.

'My name is Trevor, Trevor Slattery.'

'What are you?' Tony said. 'What're you a decoy? You're a double, right?'

'What? No.'

'An understudy?'

'Absolutely not.' Trevor said, apparently offended. 'Don't hurt the face! I'm an actor.'

'You got a minute to live, fill it with words.'

'It's just a role. "The Mandarin", see, it's not real.'

'Then how did you get here, Trevor?'

Howie almost laughed at the irritation in his dad's voice. Tony had never dealt well with surprises, too used to JARVIS knowing everything about anything.

'Um, well, uh, I have a little problem with, um, substances, and I ended up doing things... no two ways about it.'

'Next!'

'Then, they approached me about the role and they knew about the drugs.' Trevor said, not sounding that worried about Tony.

'What'd they say they'd get you off them?'

'Said they'd give me more.' Trevor said nonchalantly. 'They gave me things. They gave me this palace. They gave me plastic surgery. They gave me things.'

Howie tapped his ear piece, whispering to FRIDAY. 'Find out about Trevor Slattery. Give me an image.'

As it was loading, he heard Trevor continuing. Howie scowled when he realised he had missed part of the conversation.

'And the thing was, he needed someone to take credit for some "accidental explosions".'

'"He"?'

'Killian.'

'Killian. He created you?'

Howie frowned, unbelieving of his family's luck. If he'd known Killian was behind the fake Mandarin, he'd have been a lot more polite when they met.

'He created me.' Trevor said, almost proudly. 'Custom-made terror threat. His think tank thinked it up, the pathology of the serial killer. The manipulation of Western iconography. Ready for another lesson? Blah blah blah. Of course, it was my performance that brought the Mandarin to life.'

'Your performance? Where people die?' Tony said, losing his cool slightly.

'No, no, look around you, costumes, green screen. Honestly, I wasn't on location for half this stuff, and when I was, movie magic, love.'

Howie growled and he heard Tony echoing him.

'I'm sorry but I got a best friend who's in a coma and he might not wake up.' Tony said, voice clipped. 'So you're going to have to answer for that. You're still going down, pal.'

There was a click, then a thump and Howie's brow furrowed. He pulled himself up and glanced down. His dad was unconscious and a man was standing opposite Trevor. Howie cursed internally, sliding back out of sight. He rubbed his eyes, pushing his glasses up and ignoring the information on the screen.

'Okay, Trevor, what'd you tell him?'

'I didn't tell him anything.'

'Nothing?'

'No.'

Howie sighed, knowing he wouldn't learn anymore and he couldn't help his dad.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: This is probably the most gruesome the story gets. Just to warn you.**

* * *

His head hurt. His arm hurt more.

That was the first thing James thought when he gained consciousness. His vision was hazy, his mind struggling to catch up with itself. He shook his head, wincing, and tried to take stock of his situation. Both his arms were twisted painfully behind his back, the left one broken in several places. The back of his hand was burnt and he could feel multiple bruises across his face. He knew his injuries would heal once he transformed and his vision went green as soon as he realised that.

'Ah, ah, ah.' A voice said to his side. James looked up, his eyes fading back to brown. 'I wouldn't do that if I were you. Look behind you.'

James twisted his head, seeing the chain leading from the cuffs around his wrists. A similar cuff and chain was around his neck and James cursed himself for not noticing. He followed the length of the chain, to where Peter laid slumped against the wall. He was more bruised than James imagined himself to be but didn't see to have any broken bones. What worried James was the long thin cut across his temple. The chains linked Peter's neck to James' wrists and vice versa.

'You break those cuffs and a very strong electric shock will go through Mr Parker's neck. The same thing will happen if you break the chain. Understand Mr Banner?'

James glared at him, raising an eyebrow and trying to act natural. 'Who's Banner?'

'You are James Robert Thaddeus Banner, correct? Born November 7th, 2001, to Robert Bruce and Betty Banner.' The man smirked. 'You broke into my home, do you really think I wouldn't know who you were?'

James shrugged, groaning as it jolted his arm. In the corner of his eyes, he saw Peter stirring. He turned his gaze back to the man. He narrowed his eyes. 'Okay, I'll admit that's impressive. Are you going to be fair and tell me your name?'

The man smirked. 'Aldrich Killian. I'd shake your hand but...'

He trailed off, eyes glinting slightly. His gaze turned to Peter, who was slowly waking up. James growled, getting his attention. His eyes flashed green and he stared the man in the eyes which all the hatred he could muster.

'You're going to die, Mr Killian.' He growled, happy the Monstrosity's voice coming out of his mouth. 'You killed my friend and you are going to die. That's a promise.'

Killian raised an eyebrow, eyes flickering to Peter. James turned his head, catching Peter's concerned look before the teenager schooled his face. James would have rolled his eyes if he didn't think the action would be ridiculously juvenile. Peter just stared at him, raising an eyebrow. James shook his head slightly, eyes narrowing a bit.

Killian grinned. 'Now that you're both awake, we can have a proper conversation. I'm assuming you don't know what Extremis is.'

Peter and James just glared at him. Peter shuffled closer to James and nudged his uninjured shoulder with his own, trying to offer some comfort. James leant back onto Peter, his eyes softening as he looked back at his friend.

'No?' Killian said, clearly enjoying himself. 'I thought you were supposed to be smart. Extremis is the first functioning super soldier serum since the forties. It improves strength, speed, stamina and healing. It is the next step in human evolution.'

'Mutants are the next step in human evolution.' Peter said, jaw set. 'And I doubt this works one hundred percent of the time.'

Killian sneered. 'Mutants. Freaks if you ask me. At least our subjects are still human, just enhanced, and don't normally pose a threat to anyone.'

'Normally?' James said, wondering where the conversation was going but enjoying winding the man up. 'What happens when things aren't normal?'

'Some subjects can have a...violent reaction to Extremis. Their body rejects it.' Killian scowled. He held their gaze, smirking slightly. It was clear he wanted to come across cool and in control, able to command the whole room. It wasn't working particularly well. 'I'm sure neither of you would have such a reaction.'

James laughed shortly, raising an eyebrow. 'You think we're going to take your little serum? We're both enhanced humans, what could we get from it?'

Killian looked across at the guards, gesturing with his head. They moved forward, dragging James and Peter away from each other and chaining them to the walls. The strapped down their legs at the ankle, smirking. The two boys glanced at each other, faces determined but worry clear in their eyes. The guards moved away from Peter but one stayed next to James, kneeling down next to him.

'You call yourself enhanced?' Killian smirked, as the guard's eyes lit up, her skin beginning to glow. 'How good's your healing?'

The guard grabbed James' shin, smiling just a bit. Her arm was a terrible orange, pulsing beneath the skin, and white hot. James sucked in breath, trying not to scream, as his trouser leg melted away and his leg was completely exposed to the heat. James' breathing quicken and he tried to back away from the woman. As he did, his arm hit the wall and he cried out, finally beginning to scream at the increasing pain.

'Does it hurt?' Killian said, looking disturbingly interested in James' pain.

James, tears streaming down his face, nodding fervently. 'Yes! Please stop! Please!'

The woman only tightened her grip, grinning. Peter flinched away from James' screams, unable to watch his friend be hurt. James' eyes flashed between colours, changing so fast it was impossible to tell what colour they were.

James had never experienced pain before, not properly anyway. Growing up, he had been the most well protected child there could be. His father had barely put him down his first three or so years of life, only doing so James could learn to walk or if there was danger approaching. He had never broken his bones, never tripped and fell, never gotten hurt. The worse thing that had ever happened to him was accidently being knocked over by one of Bruce's patients when he was five. Before he could cry, Bruce had scooped him up and ran to the outskirts of the village. The run had cheered James up and he had gotten to spend the day with his other dad.

Now all of the missed opportunities for pain were catching up to him and James was struggling to stay conscious. He couldn't faint, the Monstrosity might appear, but he had to somehow stay calm. He almost slipped out of his senses several times, feeling someone else almost take control but he wrestled back before they could do so.

'Stop it!' Peter was shouting as James' gaze drifted out of focus. 'Leave him alone! Please!'

Killian waved a hand and the guard stood up, stepping away. She glanced at Peter, taking a few steps towards him. Killian shook his head, placing a hand on her shoulder.

'Not him.' He said, winking at Peter as if he was suddenly the good guy. 'He can't heal and we can't get much for a broken hero.'

The guard shrugged, the fire in her skin dying out. 'If you're sure. I'll be in the next room over if you need me.'

Her boss smirked, squeezing her shoulder as she left the room. James and Peter stared up at him, one glaring venomously, the other trying and failing to keep the same expression. Killian glanced down at them, eyes drifting over Peter's scarred face and the tears covering James'. He sneered at the younger boy.

'Still feel advanced?' He said. 'You're pathetic, Mr Banner, I hope you know that. If you'd have said yes, had agreed to work for me, you would be perfectly fine right now.'

'You are a monster.' Peter snapped, as the man turned to go. 'We'd never work with you.'

Killian raised an eyebrow, spinning back around and kicking Peter in the stomach. The teenager groaned, bending over slightly.

'Fine, if that's how you want to be.' Killian walked to the door. He paused in the doorway, looking back at them. 'I'm sure someone will pay good money for Spiderman.'

'I'm still going to kill you.' James said, fully managing a murderous look. His eyes were a canopy of colours. Chestnut, sage, azure, russet, jade, all mixed together as he glared. His voice was low, full of rage. 'That's a promise.'

Killian smiled. 'I look forward to it.'

Peter glanced over at James. The eleven-year-old was glaring at the closed door, his breath coming out ragged. Despite the pain he must have been feeling, James just seemed mad.

'James?' Peter said, slowly. 'You're going to be okay, I promise.'

James didn't look over, just continued glaring at the door. If he had turned, Peter wouldn't have seen a speck of green in his eyes. 'I'll be fine, Peter. Just as soon as I break that guy's neck.'

Peter sucked in breath, trying not to react. He turned his head towards the door, closing his eyes and trying to ignore James and his injuries. He wished he could comfort the younger boy but he also wanted to run away from him.

* * *

Howie slowly moved the cover of the vent up and rested it beside the opening. Going as slowly as possible, with his prosthetics magnetically attached to the walls of the vent. He cursed his longer hair for flopping down and possibly making him visible to whoever was in the room. He froze, listening for movement below him and ready to push himself backwards. He already had a portal behind him, small but large enough for him to fit through vertically if he squeezed through. He didn't know where the second portal was but he would take his chance with surprising whoever was on the other side. There was no sound below him so he continued to lower himself down, glancing back and forth.

The room was empty apart from one singular person, tied up and faced away from him. FRIDAY had led him to the room and he had assumed she was taking him towards James and Peter or where Tony had been taken. Instead, in front of him was a mass of red hair and the sound of a crying woman.

He unclipped his arm from the wall of the vent, reattaching it to the underside and demagnetising his leg. He tumbled forward, rolling in the air and only staying up thanks to his arm's attachment to the ceiling. He pressed the button on his knuckle and dropped, landing awkwardly with his metal leg. The thing wasn't completely the same as his original and sometimes, although rarely, didn't act how he wanted it to. The static in his ears cut out, the portal apparently gone.

'Pepper?' He said, as quietly as he could while still loud enough for her to hear. She froze, shaking her head slightly.

'You can't be here.' She muttered, sounding terrified. 'This is a trick.'

'No, no, no.' Howie said, looking around for cameras. He wish he had kept his glasses on but he had left them in his bag so they wouldn't fall off his face. 'Pepper, it's me, it's How.'

'Howie?' She said, and he could hear the smile in her voice. He wanted to move forwards, to let her go, but the camera facing her made it impossible. 'You're alive! Does Tony know?'

'No.' Howie frowned, dodging around the room and looking at the files on the side. He squinted at them, again missing his glasses. He managed to catch the word 'Extremis' printed at the top and a stamp that said 'situation critical' but the rest was too blurry for him to make out. 'I've seen him though, he's been captured.'

Pepper sucked in breath as Howie moved behind the camera and into her view. She smiled at him, eyes wide and gleaming with tears. She seemed to be in a lot of pain and parts of her skin seemed to be glowing.

'FRIDAY.' Howie whispered. 'Can you hack the camera? Change the footage?'

' _I'm afraid not, sir. The firewall is beyond my decoding abilities_.'

'Okay.' He said, looking up and smiling awkwardly at Pepper. He hated that his AI wasn't as advanced as JARVIS yet. FRIDAY could get into the CCTV but couldn't change it in any way. 'Dad will be fine, he's gotten out of worse situations. We need to focus on getting you out of here.'

Pepper shook her head, face pinching. 'You can't Howie, they'll know.'

'Then we'll just have to move fast, won't we?' He smiled weakly at her. 'Are you hurt? How easily can you move?'

She shook her head again. 'They injected me with something, Killian's Extremis thing.'

Howie cursed under his breath. Extremis was probably the thing causing the accidental explosions. If they had captured Tony, it explained why they had injected Pepper. Howie began to panic slightly, knowing it would be incredibly difficult to get her out safely.

'Okay. Okay. Okay, okay, okay. We'll fix this, I promise, I just need to...I need to...'

A portal appeared in front of him, slicing through the camera. He jumped back, the portal growing as he panicked more. Pepper's eyes were widening and Howie took several deep breaths, slowing his heart rate. The portal faded but the camera was broken and an alarm was sounding down the hall.

Howie glanced at the door, face dropping. He dashed forward, trying to pull the bonds holding Pepper off. They wouldn't break and he felt static building in his ears as he fretted. Portals popped up around him, varying in size and shape.

'We've got to go, Pepper, come on.'

She shook her head, even as he managed to get her arm out. She pushed him away, towards the open vent.

'It'll take too long, Howie. Just go, I'll be fine.'

'But Pep-'

'Go Howie.' She said, managing to sound like the CEO of a billion dollar company with tears streaming down her face. 'Help your dad and get out of here.'

'No! I won't leave you.'

'Go. Now!' She practically shouted, glaring at him. She pushed him again, her skin heating up and the force sending him across the room. He stared at her, indecision clear on his face. Someone stomping down the corridor made his mind up and he jumped, just managing to grab hold of the hole.

Howie crawled into the vent, moving as quickly as he could. He concentrated, a tiny portal appearing in front of him, barely big enough for his head to fit through, let alone his whole body. He cursed and got rid of it, pulling himself along on his knees and not caring how much noise he made. When he was suitably far away he stopped, listening for movement. Because of how loud he had been, someone following him wouldn't have bothered to be quiet.

He waited for a good twenty minutes, breathing deeply and being as quiet as possible. Once he was certain no one was coming for him, he moved his backpack around so he could pull his glasses out and swap his left leg for his crutches. His trousers had been ripped enough for the metal to be noticeable and he didn't want anyone using it to identify him. He'd already put his boots and glove in the bag, compacted like his leg. He'd managed to get all the things from James' backpack into his, thankful he had left his photo album and food behind at Peter's apartment.

'FRIDAY, can you tell me where Killian is? Where he's going?'

' _I cannot pinpoint him exactly, sir, as he is on the move_.' FRIDAY replied, an image appearing on Howie's glasses. A circle was on the map shown, blinking slightly. ' _As soon as he stops, I'll inform you_.'

Howie nodded, pushing himself through the vents. A map of the building flashed up, showing him the quickest way to go. Howie held his crutches, compacted, and made far less noise without his metal leg hitting the floor.

' _Your father is still trapped, sir. Do you want me to lead you to him_?'

Howie thought for a second as he got to a grate. His father had suits that could be summoned to him and had been teaching himself martial arts. Pepper had none of that and was sick. He would need to help her.

'No thanks.' Howie said, pulling the grate across. He jumped down, landing awkwardly on one leg. He fell forward, barely catching himself before his face hit the ground. He struggled to his feet, curling up his free trouser leg and extending his crutches. 'Show me the way to Pepper.'

' _Of course, sir. The car has stopped but the CCTV is suggesting Mr Killian and the other soldiers are leaving for a while. I will inform you when they return to the oil tanker_.'

'Thank you, Fri.'

The map flashed up and Howie headed off, thankful it wasn't an incredibly long walk. He could limp there and wait for whoever turned up. No one would bother him on the way because no one in Miami would like to talk to a homeless kid with one leg.

The journey was longer than he expected, having never taking very long journeys on one leg. He tripped several times, cursing himself and his lack of forethought. If he had brought a spare pair of trousers, life would have been so much easier. When he made it to the tanker, he let out a deep breath, incredibly thankful Killian and the soldiers hadn't arrived yet.

He limped over to the nearest container, pulling the door open awkwardly and limping in. He collapsed, exchanging his crutches for his leg again and pulling on the pieces of his armour. Static was building in his ear and portals, small and large, were forming around him but he was too tired to focus. The last time the portals had moved him, he had wanted to be across country. This time, he was exactly where he needed to be and he hoped he wouldn't wake up somewhere else.

Uneasy, but comforted by the soft light the portals gave off, Howie drifted to sleep, ready for the battle he knew would be coming.


	9. Chapter 9

Howie woke to the sound of people walking across the top of the container. He ran his hand over his face, blinking several times. He checked his leg and hand, the portals around him and the static in his ears disappearing. He stood up, hoisting his backpack further onto his shoulders and heading towards the opening. He pushed the door forward as slowly as possible, peaking his head out of the door. He couldn't hear anyone, at least no one coming his way, but knew there were people around, Killian and his goons and possibly more.

Howie looked upwards spotting the two men running across the structure. He narrowed his eyes at them, wishing he had installed the bionic eye he'd joked about. He didn't have his glasses on, top afraid they would smash, so he had no way of knowing who they were.

'FRIDAY.' He whispered, edging out of the container. 'Can you find Pepper?'

There was a moment's pause before FRIDAY replied. The poor AI was probably run down, from all the work she'd been doing in the last few days. Her programming wasn't completely finished and she couldn't run as long as JARVIS without being connected to the internet directly. Wirelessly connecting worked for finding stuff but not for helping FRIDAY reboot.

 _'No, sir. I'm sorry, sir.'_ FRIDAY said, voice slower than usual. _'She is definitely nearby, however.'_

'Thank you.' He said, sighing slightly. He walked out, moving his head side to side. He was out in the open and knew he would probably be found easily.

There was a bang and a shout to his left and Howie flinched, raising his gloved hand instinctively. When nothing came running out him, he activated his boots, slowly raising himself to the level above. He moved along the metal ledge, listening out as the shouting increased and he recognised one of the voices.

'Not too brave, now, are you?' Someone mocked as Howie reached them, looking down.

'Yeah, I'm the coward here.' James replied, glaring up at the guard standing above him. The man and several others were in Howie's way so the boy couldn't completely see what was going on. He couldn't even tell if Peter was there. 'When you can only taunt me when I'm tied up and injured.'

'You're only tied and injured because of the Master.' Another guard said, leaning against the nearest metal beam. 'So you still lose.'

'Alright, guys, leave the kid alone.' A woman said, walking forward. 'Boss needs everyone in position for the show.'

The guards surrounding James laughed slightly and spread out, giving Howie a good view of the scene below. He winced almost instantly, seeing his friend slumped against a container, with Peter beside him.

They had both clearly been beaten up, though James looked a lot worse than Peter did. Peter's face was covered in blood, one of his eyes was blackened and there was a huge cut across his face but James' entire face seemed purple, his nose looked broken and his lips were swollen. Both boys had their arms twisted behind their backs but one of James' was sticking out at a very painful angle. James' leg was the worse thing, bloody and burnt and barely holding together. Howie flinched away from it and almost stumbled, banging his leg on the metal floor.

'Hey, you!'

Howie swore, jumping backwards and flying upwards. He held his gloved hand down, sending pulses at the men and women who were now firing at him. A bullet grazed his shoulder and he yelled out, flying upwards as static appeared in his ears. He groaned as he found himself horizontal, skidding across the ground.

'Why'd you come out here?'

Howie looked to his side, seeing Peter staring at him with wide eyes. He turned his head the other way and saw James watching him, lazily. He glanced back at Peter, glaring.

'I didn't do it on purpose!'

Peter rolled his eyes, looking sideways. His eyes widened even further and he rolled, grabbing Howie with his legs and pulling him away from the portal. Several guns fired as they rolled and Howie heard the bullets hit the ground through the other portal, one even hitting on of the guards. They rolled over to James, who manoeuvred himself in front of them as Howie untangled the chain around Peter's neck. The three huddled together, staring at the guards advancing on them, reloading their guns.

'Howie.' James muttered, using his unburnt hand to grip the mutant's shirt awkwardly. Howie held tight to the James's sleeve, shaking and unable to concentrate fully through the static in his ears. 'Now would be a really good time for a surge in ability.'

The guards raised their guns, the apparent leader holding up a hand. Peter leaned onto Howie's shoulder, stretching his foot out to keep in contact with James. The leader started counting down on his hands, possibly speaking but Howie couldn't hear anything, portals appearing all around but in terrible places. The leader closed his hand and Howie closed his eyes, turning his head away.

Nothing happened.

Howie waited, ignoring the insistent tugging on his shirt. Just because they were taunting him, didn't mean he had to look. He didn't have to give them the satisfaction.

'How.' James said, voice tight. 'Howie, are you doing that?'

Howie opened his eyes slowly, looking up. A huge dome surrounded them, pure black but glowing somehow. The static was gone but Howie knew it was a portal. Outside the portal, Howie could hear screams and thuds.

'No, its not me.' He said, as the sounds died down. 'I think I know who it is though.'

The sounds stopped and the portal disappeared around them. Stood in front of them, looking incredibly worried and holding two knives made of purple-ish energy, was Howie's mother.

'Hey mum.'

Clarice dropped the knives, both disappearing before they hit the ground. She dashed forward, pulling him into a hug.

'What did I say about not dying?'

Howie patted her back gingerly. 'To be fair, you wouldn't have read about that one.'

She pulled back, a relieved smile spreading across her face. 'Okay. Let's get your friends out.'

Howie nodded, tapping a few buttons on his right hand and sorting out the kinks that were appearing in it. He shuffled forward to James, placing his hand over the cuffs.

'No, don't!' Peter shouted, pushing Clarice's hands away. 'They're rigged. Break on set of cuffs, the other person dies.'

'What about the chain?' Clarice said, peering at the collar.

'Same result.'

'Hmm.' Clarice said, leaning back and holding her hands out so her fingers were inches from each collar. 'Well then.'

'No!'

All three boys shouted as she flexed her fingers. James and Peter flinched, eyes clenched shut. The collars clattered to the ground in two halves, miniature portals hovering around the boys' necks. James glanced back at Clarice, even as she helped Peter out of his handcuffs.

'You could have killed me.'

'But I didn't.' She said with a tilt of the head. Howie raised an eyebrow at her as he grabbed Peter's web slingers and mask from one of the fallen guards.

'But you coul-'

'James.' Howie said, glaring at his friend. 'Not the time. Do you need help with those cuff?'

James glared back but shook his head, green pooling in his eyes. 'I think I can handle this.'

James skin stretched, turning green as he went. His cuffs broke and his arm clicked painfully several times as the bones reset and healed themselves. The Monstrosity pushed himself upward, the muscle and bone of his injured leg filling itself in before he could put any weight on it. He looked at Howie, eyebrows lowered.

'Smash anyone trying to hurt the president.' Peter said, pulling on his mask and shrugging off his other clothes. 'Anyone with glowing skin.'

Monstrosity nodded, jumping off into the fray. Howie heard someone scream within seconds and had to smirk to himself. There was an explosion and Howie's eyes widened, looking for Monstrosity. He smiled when he heard an answering roar.

'Are we sure he knows who the president is?' Howie said, glancing back at the others.

'Nope.' Spiderman said, holding a hand out and webbing away. 'Get to work, Titanium!'

'I hate that name.' Howie shook his head, turning back to his mother. 'You don't have to stay here, if you don't want to.'

She smiled at him, the sort of smile he reckoned children got when their parents knew something they didn't. 'I know I don't. That's why I'm staying. Now, like your friend said, lets get to work.'

Howie nodded, activating his boots and flying up. He watched her until it threatened his own safety, turning his eyes back onto the sky then onto the soldiers below him. He needed to find Pepper.

He saw Monstrosity plowing his way through several soldiers, only stopping when he saw ones without Extremis activated. It showed how stupid they were, as they quickly fired up and tried fighting him. They didn't last one minute. Spiderman seemed to prefer to use his friend's ferocity than his own, which was acceptable when his friend was over seven foot tall and could crush a grown man like a grape. So Spiderman was just swinging around, pulling guards towards Monstrosity and leaving him to do the rest. Several guards tried to run but found themselves on the wrong end of a portal, either sliced open by one or being transported back into Monstrosity's reach.

Howie watched the soldiers as they ran in, trying to figure out which direction they were coming from. He glanced down one more time, spotting his mother perched on the metal structure, looking almost bored with the situation. Pulling his backpack up again, Howie started hovering away from her, in the direction of the soldiers. Some shot at him but he dodged, sending a blast back at them. They kept shooting and he held out his hands as he moved out of the way, a portal directing their bullets back at them. He laughed, steadying himself as he almost fell and continued on his way.

'Titanium!' Spiderman shouted, ruining Howie's mood slightly. He understood the need for code names but he wished he had a chance to choose his own. 'Friends of yours?'

Howie froze in midair as Spiderman swung past him. He followed the other hero's gaze, seeing dozens of his father's suits in a circle around the tanker. He grinned as the suits flew forward, helping with the battle. He turned to look at Spiderman before he flew off, smirking.

'Friends of my dad's.'

He laughed as he dived down, flying through several oncoming guards. He hit them with enough speed to send them flying. One managed to recover fast enough to grab his foot and pull him down. His left boot fell off as he fell and he cursed, trying to stay in the air and failing miserably. The guard who had grabbed him went for his gun but Howie held his glove out, sending a pulse the man's way. Before the guy could recover, he pressed a button on his prosthetic hand, activating the grappling line and taking the man's gun. He smirked and got to his feet, the expression dropping as the man's skin began to glow.

Howie turned and ran, skidding to a stop as more soldiers ran towards him. There was a roar above him and then Monstrosity was in front of him, pushing all the guards into the dirt. The behemoth swung a punch and Howie ducked, hearing his friend's fist connect with the man behind him. Howie stood up, nodding slightly.

'Thanks, bud.'

He shook off his other boot, pretty much useless without its pair and headed through the soldiers, creating portals as he went without meaning to. It seemed to help though, with several soldiers running into half formed portals without noticing and losing limbs when the portals disappeared. Howie kept his arm raised, sending of repulsor blasts and heat beams whenever someone tried to get in his way.

He finally managed to find the section of the tanker the soldiers were guarding the most. He saw Pepper, tied up and placed on a platform high above his head. He sighed, wishing he hadn't thrown away his boot. Trying to make as least noise as possible and waiting until Monstrosity roared to start, he climbed the nearest metal column, so glad his prosthetics could magnetise, even if the force was very weak. When he reached high enough, he jumped off, rolling onto the same platform Pepper was on.

'Hey, Pep!'

She looked up, eyes brimming with tears as the guards rushed him. He dodged most of their attacks, trying to remember the self defence training Natasha and Clint had given him. He threw guards off the platform until their were only a couple left. The last two rushed at him, giving him no where to dodge to and knocking him off the platform. As he fell, he activated his grappling hook again, managing to swing up and back onto the platform, kicking the two guards away as he did so. Howie grinned to himself.

'Spiderman's got nothing on me.'

Pepper grinned as he ran forward, undoing her bonds quickly and letting her pull him into a hug. He got to his feet, holding out a hand to help her up. She froze as she stood, staring past his shoulder.

'Well, isn't this cute?'

Howie's jaw hardened and he turned around, standing protectively in front of Pepper. In the distance, he saw someone falling out of a portal sixty foot in the air.

'Hello, Aldrich. Here to make another business proposition?'

Killian smirked. 'Very funny, Mr Stark. I had hoped for a while that you had died when we attacked your house.'

'Yeah, sorry about that.'

Howie held his arm out, a heat beam coming from the suit glove. Killian moved to the side and Howie followed him with the beam, using his other arm to keep Pepper around him. The beam ran out and he switched to repulsor blasts, pushing Pepper to the side, away from the fight.

Killian dodged around the blasts, picking Howie up by his neck. Even as static built up in his ears and his airways were cut off, Howie managed to press a button on his hand, pressing his electrocuted fingers against Killian's chest. The man dropped him and Howie swept his foot out, knocking Killian to the ground. He scrambled to his feet, waving at Pepper.

'Go, Pepper, run!'

Something grabbed his ankle and he tripped, rolling instantly to punch Killian as he tried to loom over him. Killian merely sneered as Howie went to punch again, grabbing the glove and pulling it off Howie's hand. Howie's eyes widened as the glove, the last piece of his suit, was thrown away and the stumbled to his feet again, shouting behind him.

'Pepper, go!'

'Oh, no, Pep.' Killian smirked, as several portals appeared behind him. 'I want you to watch this.'

Howie ran at Killian head first, hoping to tackle him into the portal. Killian was ready for it and caught Howie's shoulder, slamming him into the metal floor. Howie groaned and felt, rather than saw, the portals go haywire, moving around. Killian placed a knee on Howie's chest, pinning him down.

'Your daddy wouldn't respect me until I was healthy, wouldn't give me the time of day when I was broken.' Killian growled, skin lighting up again. Pepper screamed nearby but Howie saw her being held by a guard out of the corner of his eye. 'I wonder how impatient he got when waiting for you to get fixed. How much do you think he'll care when you're broken again?'

Howie spat at Killian, sneering. 'My dad loves me, you sick bastard. He never thought I was broken, no matter how injured I was.'

Killian tilted his head, hands hovering over Howie's prosthetics. 'Really? Lets see if we can change that.'

He pressed down, heating up the metal and beginning to burn through it. Howie couldn't feel his arm and leg melting away but he could feel the heat radiating off them, burning the skin around his hip and elbow. He cried out, eyes clenched and portals appearing all around him, getting smaller as they increased in number. Killian finally stopped, the portals fading as Howie took several deep breaths.

'Looks like Stark Tech isn't as good as we were led to believe.'

The guard holding Pepper chuckled and Howie managed to turn his head to glare.

'Go to hell.'

The guard raised a mocking eyebrow and Killian laughed shortly. He grabbed Howie's shirt, lifting the boy up and carrying him to the edge of the platform. Howie started struggling as soon as he knew what was happening, albeit weakly. Killian just chuckled, grabbing Howie's leg and holding the boy above his head.

'Say high to your goddess friend for me.'

'No, don't!'

Killian threw Howie over the edge, the boy scrambling to grab the ledge as he flew through the air. He missed it and screamed as he fell, hitting one of the containers down below. He was winded, barely able to move and he could feel his head spinning. The container shifted and he panicked, grabbing the edge with his flesh hand. He looked below him, seeing the container tilted towards the sea. He held on as tightly as he could, knowing it wouldn't last for long. His strength was fading, his vision swimming and darkness creeping in on him.

Above his head, Pepper screamed.


	10. Chapter 10

'Take em to church.'

Tony grinned as the suits, his suits, spread out, knocking into the Extremis soldiers and sending them flying. One suit, that was designed to be controlled rather than worn, burst into several pieces, striking several soldiers at once. Another slammed a couple guards into the ground, creating a small explosion that rocked the structure.

'JARVIS, get Igor to steady this thing.'

Tony regretted taking the construction suit out of the battle but it was a necessity. He glanced sideways at Rhodey, smiling slightly.

'So this is how you've been managing your down time, huh?'

'Everyone needs a hobby.' Tony snarked, rolling his eyes. He scanned the battle, sending out instructions. The suits all moved together, JARVIS keeping them controlled.

One of the Extremis soldiers managed to pull the mask of a suit, and it spiralled out control, hitting one of the containers. Tony and Rhodey both flinched when they heard a roar straight after and Tony stood slightly, looking around. He spotted the green skinned monster quickly.

'It's all right, Rhodey, its just Jimmy.'

'Who?' Rhodey said, still holding his gun tight.

'James Banner. How's...Bruce's son.'

Rhodey nodded, not mentioning Tony's pass over his own son's name. Tony stood up completely, a suit appearing behind him.

'Nice timing.'

'Yeah, that's awesome. Give me a suit.'

Tony tilted his head in the suit. 'Oh, oh I'm sorry, they're only coded to me.'

'What does that mean?'

'I got you covered.'

Tony flew away, smirking to himself. Rhodey would be fine, if a bit annoyed and embarrassed. He flew round, helping his suits out as much as he could. Someone entered his vision and he almost shot at them, when he recognised who it was.

'Spiderman!' He shouted, knowing the boy's real name but letting him keep his secret. 'What are you doing here?'

'Just helping out a friend.' He shouted back. 'Jamie dragged me across country.'

Tony laughed as the other hero swung off, pulling soldiers up into the air then dropping them into the ocean.

 _'Sir, I've located Miss Potts.'_

'About damn time.'

He turned his head to the side, seeing Killian knocking someone off the top of the metal structure. He didn't have time to react to the other person, guessing it was probably just an Extremis soldier who had disobeyed. Killian tried to walk off with Pepper but, before he could, Monstrosity went crashing upwards through the floor, roaring at Killian. The guards around Pepper jumped at the creature, taking him down, but it was too late, the structure collapsing in on itself. Pepper and Killian fell away from each other, Tony flying after her as metal fell on top of her.

Tony landed next to the metal, bending down next to it and trying to lift it. He heard the metal groaning and then Pepper was screaming.

'Stop!' She said, making him freeze instantly. 'Put it down. Put it down, put it down.'

He nodded inside the suit, lowering the metal again. He knelt down, lifting up his visor and smiling at Pepper. The wreckage had fallen around her in an almost perfect triangle, keeping her relatively safe.

'See what happens when you hang out with my ex-girlfriends?'

Pepper let out a relieved laugh. 'You're such a jerk.'

'Yup.' Tony said, reaching his hand out to grab her. She reached back, neither quite reaching. 'We'll talk about it at dinner. Come on, a little more, baby.'

Her fingers grazed his armour but something grabbed his chest, pulling him backwards. He groaned, seeing Killian kneeling over him. The guy glanced at Pepper, smirking slightly as her face dropped.

'Is this guy bothering you?'

Tony groaned as Killian laughed to himself, skin glowing and red hot. He started drawing circles on Tony's chest, heating up the metal and cooking Tony in the suit. Killian taunted him, clearly enjoying himself but Tony just concentrated on keeping focus, on being able to hurt Killian back.

Pepper muttered Tony's name and he turned his head to look at her, eyes wide. Killian followed his gaze, tutting slightly.

'She's watching. I think you should close your eyes, you don't want to see this. Close your eyes.'

Killian raised his hand and Tony reacted, the blade out the back of his wrist slicing through Killian's arm cleanly. Killian screamed, pulling away and writhing. Tony stood, stepping out of the suit and heading back towards Pepper.

'Yeah. You take a minute.'

He reached out his hand for Pepper but the structure shook again, causing Pepper to slide out and far away. Tony cursed, running down the track and looking down. Monstrosity was surrounded by guards and was throwing them against them the beams.

'Spidey!' He shouted, getting the web-slinger's attention as he swung past. 'Keep the Monstrosity away from this area, okay?'

'Got it.' Spiderman said, slightly distracted. He swung down, kicking the guards away from James' alter ego and saying something to him. Monstrosity nodded, following Spiderman to the northern side of the structure. Tony ran along the platform, circling around towards Pepper.

'JARVIS, give me a suit, right now!'

He jumped off the platform, spreading out to land perfectly in the armour below. He scowled when something blasted the armour out of the way and he landed awkwardly on the level below him.

'Aw, come on!'

He ran down the platform, dodging under the punches of several Extremis soldiers. He turned, pushing them over the side rail and smirking when they hit the ground.

'The President is secure, Tony.' Rhodey said over the comm. 'I'm clearing the area.'

'Nice work.' He smiled weakly, glad something was going right. He ran towards Pepper, wincing when he realised she was too far away for him to reach.

'Pep, I got you. Relax, I got you, just look at me.' He held his arm out, straining his muscles. 'Honey, I can't reach any further, and you can't stay there, alright? You gotta let go.'

Pepper stared at him, obviously scared and frozen stiff. She reached out, trying to touch his hand.

'You gotta let go.' Tony said, practically begging. 'I'll catch you, I promise.'

The metal creaked and Pepper reached out further. Tony held out his hand, pinching up his face in an attempt to reach her. The metal groaned again and the structure collapsed, Pepper falling.

Tony yelled and Pepper screamed, their fingers brushing as she fell past him. He shouted as she plummeted, having to watch another one of his loved ones leave him.

'What a shame.' Tony tilted his head, seeing Killian stood there with a smirk. 'I would have caught her.'

Tony saw red, running at the other man.

* * *

'James!'

Peter swung down, hitting several Extremis soldiers straight on. They flew away from Monstrosity, who seemed to be shrinking, the green leaving his skin. Spiderman turned, pulling some more soldiers back with his web slingers. There were still loads, tearing down on James as he lost his defences. Spiderman ran back towards them but they all collapsed, holes in their chests and portals hovering above them. Spiderman looked up as the portals disappeared, Blink dropping down next to him.

'Is he okay?'

' _He_ can talk for himself.' James said, pushing one of the soldier off him and sitting up. He seemed mostly fine, apart from a long cut down his left arm and a jagged scar along his chest. 'And he is fine.'

'You know talking about yourself in third person is the first sign of insanity.' Peter smirked, holding his hand out.

'No, that's talking _to_ yourself.' James said, getting to his feet. He was mostly naked but didn't seem to care. 'Though, I do do that.'

'What happened? Why did you change back?' Clarice said, tilting her head to the side. The soldiers running at them fell down, the mutant's face unflinching.

'I dunno.' James said, running a hand over his head. 'One minute I was fine, the next my head was on fire. I think the Other Guy went to figure out what it was.'

'What d'you mean?' Peter said, pulling guards down from above and causing them to smack the ground.

James shrugged. 'I went to help Howie and then my head just...hurt. Worse than anything I've ever felt.'

'What about Howie?' Clarice said, eyes wide.

James looked between them, eyes wide. 'You mean you didn't...neither of you grabbed him.'

'Grabbed him, when?'

'He fell off the structure, south...south west I think.' James said, his breathing becoming erratic. 'I...the Other...Monstrosity. tried to grab him but well...I'm...he's not very coordinated like that. He fell...he fell in the water.'

'I'll go get him.' Clarice said, patting James' back slightly. The boy looked around wildly, eyes a swirling mass of colours. She disappeared, leaving Peter alone with James as the younger boy gripped his head.

'It hurts, Pete. Make it stop.'

Peter pulled off his mask, trying to pry James' fingers away. There was nothing physically wrong with him and Peter didn't know what to do with him.

'James, it's fine, okay. It'll be fine, the Other Guy's just-'

'No, you utter buffoon, he's not doing anything.' James' head whipped up, his eyes full of fury and the wrong colour. 'You think yourself so clever when you can't even fathom the basics of the situation.'

James was spitting out the words, advancing on Peter as the older boy backed up. James could be rude, saying things to upset people without realising he was doing so but he had never been cruel, never purposefully gone after someone to hurt them.

'Alright, that's enough now. Stop it.'

'Oh, you think you're so tough, Spiderman out to save the world.' James sneered, hands clenching into fists. 'Well, you save New York and when the world actually needs saving, you're no where to be found.'

Something exploded behind him and he turned, seeing most of the southern side on fire.

'James, now isn't the time we have to help.'

'Oh they're dead Peter.' James said, pulling a face. He said it like it wad a fact and Peter was a fool to believe otherwise. 'And if they're not, they're going to be. Everyone is going to die. Every single worthless person on this planet will die one day. I know it, you know it, at least I have the integrity to adm-'

Peter's hand flew out, hitting James straight on. The boy fell backward, collapsing on the floor. Peter sighed, shaking out his hand and looking down at his friend. He'd have to talk to Sophie or Howie about this but later, when there weren't terrorists trying to kill him and his friend.

He flinched as something landed next to him, his arms coming up to fire. He just ended hitting the suit that landed next to him with web, the armour tilting its head at him. Peter just sighed, raising an eyebrow.

' _Mr Parker_.' A British voice, probably JARVIS, said. ' _Mr Stark says the area is secure. You should take Mr Banner to the southern side to meet him.'_

Peter raised an eyebrow, looking across at the fires on the southern side.

 _'I assure you its quite safe_.'

With that, the suit flew off, exploding in the sky. Peter shook his head, lifting James onto his shoulder and pulling his mask back on. He was grateful James was still quite small for his age, at least weight wise.

'Come on, Jamie. We'll figure out why you're being a dick later.'

James, of course, didn't reply.

* * *

'No more false faces.' Killian said, walking towards Tony. His skin was glowing, probably from the explosion that failed to kill him. Tony leaned away from him, trying to think of a way to fix everything. 'You said you wanted the Mandarin. You're looking right at him. It was always me, Tony, right from the start. I am the Mandarin!'

Killian laughed, raising his hand as if to strike. Within seconds, however, he was knocked to the side, Pepper stood there. Tony's mouth fell open and he stared at her, unable to form coherent words. He just stared, and she stared back, the intensity broken by one of the suits flying in.

'Jarvis, subject at my 12 o'clock is not a target, disengage!'

Pepper looked up, her eyes closing slightly. Tony tapped his ear but the comm wasn't there and his face dropped. He turned back to Pepper as she dodged the laser JARVIS sent at her. She spun, glaring at Tony.

'What?' He said as she ran at him. 'What are you mad at me?'

He watched in shock as she jumped off his knee, striking straight through the armour as it flew overhead. She landed again, punching the glove onto her hand and knocking Killian away from her. She kicked an explosive towards him, shooting at him and easily beating him. Tony watched, slowly getting to his feet as she breathed heavily and looked back at him, clearly scared.

'Honey, you're okay, you're fine.' He smiled slightly. He was so happy she was alive, the violence didn't matter. 'You scared the devil out of me, I thought you were-'

'Dead?' She finished, clearly exhausted. 'Why because I fell two hundred feet?'

Suddenly her face dropped and her eyes widened.

'Oh my god, Howie-'

'Shh, its okay. I know.' He muttered, stepping forward, just wanting to hold her. 'I know.'

'He fell, Tony.' She said, as he went to hug her. 'Don't touch me. I'm gonna burn you.'

He held her anyway, smiling even though she couldn't see. 'You're not hot. It's fine.'

'Am I going to be okay?' She muttered, crying slightly.

'No, you're in a relationship with me.' Tony smirked, moving backwards slightly. He stared at her face, thinking of the son he lost and the thought of losing her again, in any possible way. Nodding to himself, he stepped back, kneeling down.

'What are you doing?' She said, staring at him.

'Pep, I'm not very great at relationships. I'm going to make mistakes and you're going to get angry. But I love you and I can't lose you again.'

'Tony...' She said, though she was smiling.

'I lost my son because I was stupid. I refuse to do the same thing again. I'll get rid of the suits and I'll stop the heroics, whatever you want. Just, please Pep, will you marry me?'

She nodded, unable to say anything else. He stood, kissing her and holding her tight.

'I'll get a ring.' He said. 'And get rid of my distractions. JARVIS? You know what to do.'

' _The "clean slate" protocol, sir_?'

'Screw it, it's Christmas. Yes, yes.'

The suits around them flew at each other, exploding on impact. Tony looked down at Pepper, at his fiancée but she was looking past his shoulder. He turned, seeing a very familiar woman holding an unidentifiable shape.

'Clarice.'

He didn't know why she would be here. He was almost certain she had been Howie's mother, the purple stains on his skin all but confirming it. As she stepped closer, the portal behind her showing another part of the tanker, he began to recognise the thing she was holding.

It was Howie. His son. Even from the distance Tony was at, he could see the boy breathing. Tony felt his own breath catch and tears well up in his eyes. He hadn't failed Howie, his son was still alive. Howie would still joke with him in the lab and throw things at him when we wasn't paying attention and jump out of the vents and so many other things Tony thought he would never see again. But he could now because Howie was _safe_.

His knees gave out and he collapsed, Clarice smiling as she handed their son over to him.

'Howie...How...I don't...'

Howie was injured, bruises and cuts covering his skin but nothing too serious. His prosthetics were mangled and he was soaking wet and unconscious, but he was clearly breathing and his chest was rising and falling.

'You need to keep an eye on him.' Clarice said, as Peter landed behind her with James. Tony stared at them, all five who were alive and safe. He nodded slowly, Pepper kneeling down beside him to hold both of her boys.

'What do you think?' He muttered to Pepper as Clarice turned to check on the boys. 'Do you like it?'

Howie stirred slightly in his arms, eyes opening. He smiled up at both at them and gripped his dad's shirt. Tony's breath caught as he looked down at his son, his only child, smiling up at him. He was fine, or at least he would be, and Tony hadn't completely failed him. As soon as Howie saw both Pepper and Tony smiling back at him, their entire faces bright and full of relief, he closed his eyes again, leaning back in his father's arms. Pepper kissed Howie's forehead, smoothing his hair down. She looked back up at Tony, still crying but smiling as well.

'It'll do.'


	11. Chapter 11

_December 25, 2012. Avengers Tower, New York._

'Merry Christmas!'

James and Howie shouted as soon as the video call connected. The girls on the other end, both wearing novelty hats, cheered and laughed. All four children smiled at each other as James and Howie sat down, the television in one of Stark Tower's huge living rooms showing their girlfriends. Sophie and Lizzie were perched on folding chairs, the desert behind them giving no hint of their location.

'Merry Christmas to you too.' Lizzie smiled. 'Have you opened any presents yet?'

'Nah.' James shrugged, scratching the back of his neck. 'Papa wanted to wait for Nat and Tony needed to speak to him anyway.'

'Oh yeah.' Sophie said with a slightly raised eyebrow. 'I hear congrats are in order. When's the wedding?'

Howie shrugged. 'Pepper thinks it'll take a couple years yet. But dad wants both of you to be bridesmaids. Me and James are best men.'

'Well, you're a best man.' James said, shrugging. 'I'm just a groomsman at this point, there's a difference.'

The girls nodded, both apparently quite excited although you couldn't tell from just looking at Sophie. The glint in her eyes and the minuscule upturn of her lips was the only betrayal of her emotions. She was raised by the Black Widow after all.

The boys both got it though and smiled widely at her. The stoicism dropped and she grinned back, never quite managing to keep up the lack of emotions around her friends. Lizzie gave the other girl a nudge with her shoulder, shaking her head slightly.

'Have you all recovered?' Lizzie said, looking concerned.

Howie nodded, raising his right arm as if to prove his point. His prosthetics were new and improved, although that didn't help with the strain he'd got in his shoulder when he'd fallen. James was perfectly fine, two short minutes as Monstrosity and all his injuries were gone. He barely even remembered the night of the fight.

'All good.' Howie said. 'Dad's a bit knocked up and Pepper's still got Extremis in her blood but other than that we're fine.'

'Really?' James said, glancing sideways. 'You didn't tell me that.'

'It's pretty much gone. It's just a mild healing factor and some enhanced strength.'

'How much?' Lizzie said, leaning forward.

Howie shrugged. 'Let's just say she'd beat your granddad in an arm-wrestle.'

Sophie whistled low. 'Impressive. He sends holiday wishes, by the way.'

'Same to him. Peter says hi.'

'Oh yeah.' Lizzie grinned, thinking of the new addition to their little group. 'Is he there?'

'Yeah but he's helping with the food.' James said with a sneer. 'His aunt said he could only come if he made himself useful.'

'She's not there then?'

Howie shook his head. 'No secrets in the tower. Its the only rule.'

The girls nodded for a while, understanding the want for transparency. The Starks had spent too long keeping things hidden, they didn't want to do the same thing anymore, especially in their own home.

'So its finished now?' Sophie said, head tilted.

'Pretty much.' James shrugged. 'Just a couple pieces of furniture need to-'

'James!' Clint shouted from the floor below. The vents that James had oh-so-carefully planned out were open, giving an easy line of communication between the groups in the two floors. 'Someone on the phone for you!'

'Tell 'em to call back later!' Howie shouted back.

'Yeah, I'm busy!' James chipped in, rolling his eyes slightly.

'Really?' Clint said, a teasing lilt in his voice. 'She seems very eager to talk to you. Do I need to get all protective dad? Hope you not cheating on my daug-'

'No! No! I'll be there in a second.' James shouted back, scrambling to his feet. Lowering his volume, he turned back to the girls. 'That's my mum. Her husbands family is going round, she probably doesn't have long to talk.'

Sophie waved him away. 'Just go. Tell her we say Merry Christmas and ask if the kids like their gifts.'

'We might have to go before you get back.'

James' face dropped but he nodded. 'Okay, I'll tell him and I'll ask. If you're gone before I return, goodbye, Merry Christmas. Love you, Soph.'

'Love you too.' Sophie smiled slightly. She blew a kiss almost mockingly and James turned and ran off.

Howie rolled his eyes slightly as James ran, almost falling over as he turned the corner for the elevator. 'He's crazy.'

'Yeah.' Sophie said, though her voice was less fond and more exasperated. 'You said it, Stark.'

'Well I am smarter than you, Barton.'

Sophie raised an eyebrow playfully but Lizzie looked between them annoyed.

'Could you not, maybe, use each other's first names?'

Sophie and Howie looked at each other, eyebrows raised. With huge smiles, they spoke at the same time. 'Nope.'

'Unthinkable.' Sophie quipped.

'Impossible.' Howie added, laughing.

Lizzie looked between them, shaking her head as if torn between being upset with them or finding their antics funny. In the end, she just waited for them to stop giggling at each other.

'Sorry we couldn't be at the tanker.' She said, changing the subject without any subtly. 'I heard it was quite a fight.'

Howie frowned, thinking about the fight. He hadn't managed to help much, just got in the way really. If he hadn't tried to save Pepper, his dad would have gotten to her and he wouldn't have thought she died. But, of course, they wouldn't be engaged if that had happened.

He thought about falling, and hitting the water. He had started to panic the second he was submerged, remembering the last time he had fallen into water. Unlike that time, he was conscious going into the water but blacking out fast. He couldn't stay awake and he could feel himself sinking, dying just like when his heart was pulled out of his chest...

'Stark!'

Howie's eyes snapped open- he hadn't even realised he closed them- and he stared at Sophie and Lizzie on the screen. The younger girl pointed behind him and he turned, scowling at the portals that had appeared there. He waved a hand, dispersing them. Lizzie watched him with slight fear while Sophie just looked concerned.

'Sorry about that.' He shrugged, refusing to meet his girlfriends' eyes. 'I guess I panicked a bit.'

'I'll say.' Sophie said, leaning back in her chair and pulling her knees up to her chest. Sophie had dealt with people suffering from bad memories, knew how badly it could affect them. She cared too much about her father, about Loki and, yes, about Howie to not learn all the signs. He needed to speak to someone. He seemed more awake that he had over the last few days, his eyes more alert. It was probably helped by it being daytime but he hadn't been trying to call them in the middle of the night anymore. 'It's alright, no need to explain.'

Lizzie looker for a moment like she wanted to press for more details but shook her head as someone else appeared in the picture, both girls straightening up when they saw her.

'Cadet Rogers, there are several packages for you.' She said, the side of her lip twitching.

'Thank you, Agent Carter, could you give me a moment?'

The agent nodded, winking at the screen before turning away. Howie raised an eyebrow at her, turning his shocked expression on Lizzie.

'Carter? Any relation?'

Lizzie nodded. 'Nana Peg's niece.'

'Which makes her your...' Howie thought for a moment. '...Aunt?'

'First cousin once removed.' Sophie said, looking at something off screen. 'Liz, you better go, that's a look of stuff.'

'Couldn't you go?' Howie said, not unkindly.

Lizzie shook her head, standing up. 'I have to sign for each package individually.'

Howie grimaced, gaining a small laugh from both girls. 'Okay, Merry Christmas.'

'Merry Christmas.'

Lizzie walked off, Sophie watching her go with an raised eyebrow. She turned back to the screen, looking slightly smug. 'No L-word, Stark.'

'Shut up, Barton, we can't all be completely comfortable with every component of our relationships.'

Sophie rolled her eyes at his dramatics but she seemed to get sadder. 'Yeah, well, I don't think either of us are doing great.'

'The tanker incident?'

'How'd you guess?' Sophie snarked, eyes widening sarcastically. Her face softened and she pulled her hair out of the bun in was in, letting the pastel pink waves surround her face. 'I just don't know what's going on with him, he can be such a jerk.'

'Most people can be jerks at times.' Howie shrugged. 'But I know what you mean. I've lost count how many times Pete or Bruce have had to stop him going on about my mutation.'

He looked at the back of his hand, now more purple than Caucasian. The pattern was spreading up his arms and had already started covering his face. It was mostly symmetrical but with no clear pattern, reminding Howie of a brightly coloured rorschach test.

'Yeah, he sometimes just goes off on one, complaining about everything. He once spent an hour telling me why me changing my hair colour was an affront to decency.'

'I though he liked your hair.'

'So did I.' She shrugged.

'So what did you do?'

'Put him on mute, played Angry Birds.' She smirked, Howie mirroring her expression. 'Has he ever talked to you about people dying?'

'Once.' Howie said, thinking back. 'A couple days ago. He had a nightmare and there was an earthquake somewhere and he kept saying there was no point in saving people because if they weren't dead already they would be. Like he knew for certain people would die.'

'He seems to think everyone's going to die except him. If Monstro wasn't so caring, I'd think he was going bad.'

Howie rolled his eyes. Only Sophie could call a giant green rage creature 'caring'. Of course, only James managed to be a jerk enough to make her think so. 'He's fine mostly though.'

'Mostly yeah. But should we have to put up with it?'

'We?'

'You're his friend too, aren't you?'

Howie nodded his head sideways, accepting her point. She stared at him slightly intensely, making him raise an eyebrow. 'What?'

'Just thinking about what Liz said. Everyone around here calls me by my last, without fail. I dunno, just, when you do it, its like a personal nickname but now its...'

'Ruined?' Howie guessed.

'I suppose.'

'So you want me to call you Sophie?'

'Oh god, no.' She said, looking affronted. She screwed up her nose slightly. 'And give everyone else the satisfaction? No, I just need to think of something else.'

Howie smiled, thinking to himself. She was quite cute when she was thinking.

'Howie! Nat's here!'

'Yeah. One minute!' Howie shouted back to his dad, sighing slightly. 'Any ideas?'

'Not really but-'

'Howard Edwin Stark! Get down here!' Tony shouted, evidently not hearing Howie's previous reply.

Howie shrugged at Sophie, who seemed to have had an idea. 'Well, I got to go. Say bye to Lizzie for me.'

'Okay, same to James. Merry Christmas, Edwin.'

He stopped halfway out of his chair. He thought for a second, making sure he had her middle name right. 'Merry Christmas, Anastasia, see you in a few weeks.'

She grinned, hanging up on the call. He smiled, standing up and jumping into one of the vents, pulling himself through to the floor below. He dropped down right next to his father, making the man jump.

'Hey dad. What did you learn in therapy?'

'That Bruce doesn't care about me.' Tony said, pretending to wipe away a tear. The other man threw a cushion at him from across the room as Howie walked over to hug Natasha.

'Hey, kiddo, done saying goodbye to Lizzie?'

'Actually it was Sophie I was saying goodbye to.' Howie said, sitting down on the same sofa as James. Peter jumped over the back, landing between the two as Tony and Natasha sat down with Clint and Pepper. Most of the people gave Howie a strange look but he shrugged, even as Peter patted his chest.

'Didn't get rid of this then?'

Howie looked down at his arc reactor, shrugging again. The shrapnel in his blood was gone but he kept the battery. 'Nah, it powers my limbs. Keeps me going.'

'Whatever.' James said, rolling his eyes. 'Gimme my presents.'

Everyone laughed, handing out gifts and settling into the tradition. Howie and Peter shot James a look as he pulled the wrapping off his first gift, barely muttering a thank you to Clint. Peter looked back at Howie, shaking his head and accepting his gift from Bruce. All the group had got gifts for Peter as soon as they knew he was staying. Howie shrugged at Peter, opening his own gift and smiling down at the jumper Pepper had got him.

Life was good. It wasn't always very funny, no matter how much the Starks tried to change that, but it was good.

And Howie Stark hadn't had a bad night sleep in weeks.


End file.
